That Kiss
by charlaine2124
Summary: The Gaang are reunited a year after Sozin's comet in Ba Sing Se, but there's trouble in paradise at the brutal murder of an Earth Kingdom Noble, and Zuko and Katara are thrust into the eye of the storm.
1. New Endings

_**So… This is my first ever Fanfiction, but I do a lot of other writing, so I hope this doesn't go too badly. I have read A LOT of fanfiction over the last couple of months, and so I would like to apologise in advance to anyone whose ideas I might inadvertently slip into here (don't worry, it'll only be tiny things) Please go and read all of the Fics on my favourites, as that way you'll know exactly what is and isn't mine, and also you'll get to read some really awesome stories that I really enjoyed reading by some really talented authors.**_

_**Pairings: Definitely Zukara and Sukka, and probably Taang and Mai Lee, but we'll see how it goes. My writing tends to get away with me and I often have little control over what the characters do after a certain point. Later chapters are likely to involve some lemon, but not for a long while (if I can help it) so read at your own risk. I'll put ratings on each chapter, and feel free to dispute them if you disagree.**_

_**The title is inspired by a song called 'That Kiss' by Tiffany Alvord. GO! FIND HER ON YOUTUBE! I bear no affiliation to her or her music except that I am a fan. I think that it aptly describes the kind of relationship that I want Zuko and Katara to have. Also it is a pretty song, and every time it comes on my shuffle it makes me smile. I'm not confessing fantastic poetry or musicianship here, but we all need songs that make us smile.**_

_**Other than that, I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters blah blah blah… Go watch the series so you know what's mine and what isn't. Any inaccuracies in terms of OC and random bits of plot changing are my entire fault. **_

_**ENOUGH RAMBLING! HERE: SOME STORY! **_

_**This fic starts at the very second that the Season 3 finale ends, kinda under the camera pan into the sky and… SORRY! STORY NOW!**_

**New Endings**

The kiss was long and gentle. Katara wrapped her hands around the young boy's slight frame and felt his hands tighten around her waist. And Aang was holding her so tenderly; she wasn't sure whether she should grasp him more firmly to encourage him or just enjoy the moment. Then the kiss was broken, and they gave each other loving looks.

"Katara. I don't really know what I'm going to be doing now that the war is over, but I hope you'll stick around. I would really miss you if you didn't."

"Of course I'll stay Aang. I'll go anywhere with you on that Flying Bison. I've already been all over the world, what could possibly go wrong?"

She could hear laughter behind her; Sokka had finally given up on his drawing and was now rooting around in a back room, trying to find some food. Katara and Aang clasped each other's hands and walked back into the room together, sharing a secret smile. Suki caught the look and grinned at the lovesick pair, her eyes turning back to watch Sokka returning with a pile of food that he had scavenged from... wherever it was he had just been. He sat at the table and began to eat, and seeing the food, everyone else was soon doing the same.

If Sokka had managed a painting at that point, he might have caught the slight hesitation in Mai's smile as she looked into Zuko's eyes, the brief touch that passed between Katara and Zuko, and the way that Toph angled toward Katara and Aang such that she was almost on top of them. The group of friends were caught up in their eating and were oblivious to the tiny signals that they gave off, so maybe even Sokka wouldn't have been able to capture the moment as it deserved. As it was, these things went unnoticed by everyone, except an endlessly curious Lemur, who sat on another table, sinking his teeth into a stolen apple silently.

_**Yeah, it's short. I just wanted to say a couple of things before I skip ahead to the time of the actual story. Be Content. Sorry about the long ramble (again)**_

_**I'm writing this alongside my NaNoWriMo novel, and while I won't upload any more chapters until after November, this may account for any weird things that I do that make no sense later. **_

_**Please tell me what you hate :D**_


	2. Old Beginnings

_**Just a reminder I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters blah blah blah… Go watch the series so you know what's mine and what isn't. **_

_**Any inaccuracies in terms of OOC moments and random bits of canon plot changing are my entire fault. Sometimes it's deliberate. Sometimes it's just me being a bit of a fail. Feel free to point them out if they bug you, and I'll tell you which they are. **_

_**Chapter rating: K**_

**Old Beginnings**

The celebrations were in full swing when Katara and Aang finally landed in Ba Sing Se. They had picked up Sokka, Suki and Ty Lee from Kyoshi Island, and they were all incredibly happy to see that all their friends had made it.

"Hey, look Aang. I wonder if they got the same guy who did the giant statue of you in Chin Village to do that" Sokka was pointing at a giant Avatar, towering above the square in front of the Royal Palace. Aang smiled at Sokka, as he jumped lightly off Appa's back, and turned to help Katara down. They were both stiff and formal as they interacted, which had not escaped Suki or Ty Lee on the journey here, but they ignored it and hoped that this was just one of those things. Suki knew that Katara and Aang had grown a little distant recently, but Katara had made it seem in her letters like it was just a little squabble, whereas this looked like an all-out fight. Suki shook her head and grabbed Sokka's hand, squeezing it a little and following after Aang to be reunited with everyone else.

This was the grand celebration that the Earth King had thrown as a celebration of a year of peace. Many found it difficult to believe that it had been a whole year since Sozin's comet, but the celebrations were in full swing. For a full day people were forgetting the famines, the wounded and the lost and simply celebrating that nothing more would be taken from them by war now that it was all over.

Waiting by the doors of the Earth Palace was a gaggle of kids. On the left, Teo and his father stood next to Duke on Pipsqueak's shoulder, Longshot and Smellerbee. On the right stood Haru and his father, along with what looked like half of the water tribe, including Hakoda, Kanna and Pakku. Sokka and Katara ran ahead of Aang and the others to greet their father and grandmother, while Aang walked at a stately pace to greet King Bumi and the Earth King. Beside the two kings stood Fire Lord Zuko and his uncle Iroh, who was talking animatedly to Toph. They all greeted one another, taking several minutes, and they were soon making their way down the halls of the earth palace together, catching up on months apart.

"And how are you, granddaughter? Still looking after the Avatar I see?" Kanna had been listening to Sokka talk about how wonderful Suki was for the last five minutes, and was curious about her granddaughter's silence. She thought that Katara was happy with the avatar, but her eyes now told her otherwise.

"Things with me and Aang are... Complicated at the moment. I'm sure it'll all be fine." Kanna gave Katara a sideways look, but said nothing more, sensing that this was a subject best left until they had a few moments of privacy together.

The throne room held a smaller party, similar to the one that they had crashed when they first came to Ba Sing Se. Bosco was standing in front of the throne platform and was dancing along to the music that filled the hall. Everywhere was colour, the symbols of all four nations adorning the drapes that were flung from column to column, and the people themselves all wearing fine robes in their nation's colour. Aang was the only one wearing the full orange of the Airbenders, but many people wore orange trimmings on their robes, or the women wore orange headpieces in honour of the Avatar.

The new arrivals were ushered into adjoining rooms to change, and were soon back in the midst of the party, greeting nobles and other high ranking officials in what seemed like an endless stream of people who wanted to shake the hand of those who had assisted the Avatar. Katara's head was soon whirring with names, and when she found herself alone at a buffet table, she almost sighed with relief at the prospect of being able to eat in peace. She was looking forward to the prospect of food after her long ride, and soon happily tasted every dish that was set out before her. This too was a kaleidoscope of colour and flavour, with famous dishes from all the corners of the world and all the nations brought together to celebrate the unity that the Avatar had brought.

Katara was enjoying her meal so much that she didn't notice the Firebender coming up behind her until he was almost breathing down her neck.

"You look lovely tonight Katara." She turned to see the smiling eyes of Iroh, reflecting the deep blue of her dress.

"So do you Iroh, I must say that purple really is your colour." Iroh was dressed in his full White Lotus robes, the lotus design on his belt picked out in gold embroidery that glittered in the firelight that filled the room.

"I have always thought that purple was an excellent colour. I think it would also suit you, my dear." He gave Katara a warm smile and she blushed, taking his offer of an arm as she was led away from the table and back into the centre of the party.

"I would like to wear purple, but tonight I am here representing my tribe, and I like blue just as much."

"Maybe one day you will find an occasion to wear it for me. I would like to one day have a dancing partner who I matched. It would be an interesting spectacle, don't you think?" Katara only smiled back, and was soon whisked back into the party. There was a strange twinkle in Iroh's eye, and he held Katara's arm for most of the rest of the night, steering her towards people who she got along with as often as possible, and for this Katara was exceedingly grateful. They whirled together for the whole night, and as the people finally began to make their apologies, Katara offered Iroh a dance on the swiftly emptying dance floor. They spun together for a few minutes, and as they spun, for a moment it seemed that the two became a single figure, dressed in a deep lilac that was both dark and alluring in the light that was swiftly dimming as the candles were extinguished by a small army of attendants, already beginning to tidy away all evidence of the evening's long festivities.

It was nearly dawn when Katara was finally led by an irate servant to the guest rooms that had been set aside for her. She flopped onto her bed, barely maintaining enough energy to kick her shoes off before drifting off into an exhausted slumber.

* * *

><p>The next morning dawned cool and bright, and Katara woke late along with the rest of the palace. After changing her dress, she wandered the halls of the palace for a while before finding someone who could show her the way to the dining room, where she had been informed the night before that breakfast would be served all day, no matter how late everybody woke up. She arrived to find that Sokka, Suki, Aang and Iroh were already there, and as she walked in, she saw Zuko coming in the opposite door. Sokka, Suki and Katara all bowed to him as he entered, respectful of his position as Fire Lord, and he groaned at the gesture.<p>

"Please. My head hurts far too much this morning to have an argument about the fact that you are my friends, and I don't like you bowing to me. In public, fine. At breakfast, no." And, cradling his head in his hand, he sat as the table alongside Iroh, grabbing half of a large stack of pancakes with his fingers and dumping them on his plate. Katara sat beside him on the only remaining chair at the table that Iroh and his early rising had bagsied, and they all ate in companionable silence, with the occasional astonished glance at the amount of food that Sokka was managing to eat all on his own. Other attendees of the party drifted in and out as they ate, and soon they had all finished and servants were taking away the empty food plates. Katara was about to leave and finish brushing her hair in anticipation of a day in the city with Toph, when Zuko put a hand on her arm.

"I'm going to a council this morning about rearranging the food distributions. You have seen more of the rest of the world than I have since the war, travelling with Aang, and I would value your contribution. Aang… doesn't see everything the way that you do." Zuko's face was serious as he tried not to give offence to the Avatar, but Katara smiled and nodded.

"I'd be more than happy to help Zuko. When is the meeting?"

"Um... in about ten minutes." Katara gasped and ran from the room, Zuko running after her and asking what was wrong.

"I need to brush my hair!"

* * *

><p>The meeting had been going on for nearly an hour when Zuko finally let his temper get the better of him<p>

"Look, the Fire Nation is more than happy to lend its fleets to the transportation of food, but we are struggling to feed ourselves without aid, and we simply cannot contribute anything. We are no longer taking any food from the earth kingdom colonies, and without that I have people in my nation starving. I will give you more ships, more men, even more money, but we need the food!" Zuko was standing with both fists resting on the table as he glared at the man across form him.

It was a senior advisor to the Earth King, Advisor Hipau, who was standing in after the earth king was 'taken ill' after the party the previous night. Katara couldn't help but feel sorry for King Kuei, who really was doing better at being an active king in his Nation, but still tended not to think through the consequences of his party habits.

"The Fire nation is responsible for the burning of hundreds of acres of farmland during Sozin's comet, and as such I feel that they should be giving up their food for us."

"We aren't going to get anywhere while everybody is still blaming the Fire nation for everything." Aang had spoken up to prevent a fight breaking out. "There is still plenty of food for everyone in the Earth Kingdom; it's just not being shared out fairly."

"We are doing our best, but there are still greedy people out there who won't share it around." King Bumi agreed with Aang.

"Avatar, you have been meeting with the Earth Kingdom people during the last months. Tell us, what do they think?" This was Zuko again

"Well…" Aang looked trapped, and so Katara spoke up instead.

"They feel like all they get is the leftovers from the food that comes here, to Ba Sing Se. Refugees are still pouring into the city, as they are convinced that here is where all the food is."

"But it isn't here. It's being spread out amongst the entire kingdom." Advisor Hipau argued passionately, but his ample stomach gave away how well he ate, and Katara had very fond memories of the feast last night. She wondered where all the leftovers had gone, if they had all been thrown away, of if the servants had taken then home. She wasn't left much time to wonder, as Zuko started speaking again.

"I will personally oversee the production and distribution of food in the coming months, but only if you do the same. Any spare I will be more than happy to send to the Earth Kingdom, but I can't make any promises."

* * *

><p>"Why is the Earth Kingdom so damned stubborn?" raged Zuko once the Advisors and other Earth Kingdom officials had made their way out of the room. Katara gave him a look, at which Zuko simply waved his hands. "Ok, Ok, stupid question. But I really feel like there should be more of a 'forgive and forget' attitude about this whole thing." Another look, this time from his uncle and Zuko gave a loud sigh. "Not that I expect them to forget about a hundred years of war, but... I feel like they're taking advantage of my guilt." He stopped his pacing around the room and fell into an empty chair, the one recently vacated by Advisor Hipau. "I want to help, I really do, but I can't fix the Fire Nation and the rest of the world at the same time. Isn't that what the Avatar is supposed to do?"<p>

Aang had been sitting quietly in the meeting since Katara had spoken. He continued to stare unseeing at his hands until he heard Zuko mention him, when he looked up at the room and caught the glances of everyone, even Toph was managing to make her blank eyes look interested.

"Yes. It is my job. And I'm trying."

"Nobody thinks that you're not doing your best Aang." Said Katara, shooting Zuko a deadly look. "But they all forget you're new to this whole Avatar thing. Two years ago you were still in the iceberg, and saving the world once in that time should be more than enough."

"It doesn't matter what should be enough, and how experienced or old I am Katara. I have a responsibility, and I intend to perform it." And with a rush of wind Aang stood and whisked his way out of the room. Katara ran to follow him, and was soon darting through the corridors in pursuit, following the fain whooshing sound that was made y Aang's airbending aided sprint. When he finally came to a stop, Katara walked up behind him slowly.

They were outside in a courtyard that was otherwise deserted. It had in it a pair of benches, facing each other between a patch of earth that was filled with low plants. The leaves of the plants were rustling from Aang's passage, and they slowly stilled as Katara approached him.

"Aang..."

"No Katara. You shouldn't have followed me. I don't need you to baby me any more. Being the Avatar is what I do, and you can't protect me from it any more. I think... I think I should carry on alone." Aang turned to look at Katara and her nonplussed face. He looked at her seriously for a moment and as her face fell her knees folded underneath her and she sat heavily on a bench.

"I know you're only trying to look out for me, but I can't have you speaking in my place, or doing everything for me. I thought that I wanted you to look out for me, but I want to look out for you, and you never let me do that. I need to learn how to do this on my own. I need to not depend on you, because how can I save everyone else if I can't even look after myself? Maybe... Maybe one day I'll be ready to do it alone and I'll still need you as more than my keeper. And then we can try again. But until that day, I need to find my own path."

Zuko found Katara in the courtyard nearly an hour later. She had obviously been crying, and the odd sniffle and tear still escaped her otherwise calm face. She was staring blankly at the ground, tugging absentmindedly on her sleeve, and didn't notice his approach until he sat down next to her. She jumped in surprise before stilling the last vestiges of sorrow on her face and looking up and smiling at him. Zuko wasn't fooled, however, and looked at Katara seriously.

"What happened?" His voice was deep and full of concern. "You didn't come back to the council chambers."

"It's nothing. Aang and I had a fight,"

"That doesn't sound like nothing."

"Well, no. It's not nothing. But I'll be fine." Katara's voice broke on the word fine and she began to cry again. Zuko held himself apart for a moment, unsure of exactly what to do with a weeping girl. Mai never did this sort of thing, she just held it all inside and then went and threw knives at unsuspecting servants. However, he soon found himself stiffly placing an arm over her shoulder and Katara took the opportunity to burrow her head into his chest. He froze, for a moment, before allowing himself to relax into the embrace and simply comfort her.

They sat like this for a long while, Katara enjoying the warmth that Zuko emitted, and Zuko simply enjoying the physical contact that was increasingly rare with his own girlfriend. The Firebender and Waterbender sat as friends, enjoying the simple companionship of each other's presence, and Katara's sobs receded to sniffles which receded to silence again. The courtyard was completely still, and they both subconsciously stilled their breathing until there was nothing to be heard at all.

There was another long pause before Zuko rustled and made to get up. They both stirred themselves to standing, and after a brief look at each other and a smile, they made their way back to where there were still people meeting, no need to exchange any more words.

* * *

><p>It was three day later, when everyone was beginning to leave that Zuko and Katara met alone again. They had both used the courtyard separately, as a space to get away. And so it was again on this day, as Aang packed his bags, Katara sought the solitude of the small, forgotten corner of the earth palace to decide what she wanted.<p>

_I could go back to the southern water tribe, with my father, but he'll end up asking lots of awkward questions about why I'm not with Aang. Same with Sokka and Suki. Although it's more likely that Sokka will go crazy as soon as he finds out and run off to kill Aang. And they've been getting much... closer recently. I don't really want to disturb them. Toph has already decided she's going to help Aang rebuild the Western air temple, so that only really leaves Zuko..._

As though he had heard her thoughts, Zuko walked into the courtyard. He wandered through the ornately carved arch that faced the bench on which Katara sat, and she looked at him for a moment that betrayed her train of thought, but schooled her expression before he looked up and saw her. He stopped suddenly when he saw her looking at him, clearly expecting the courtyard to be deserted, but smiled warmly at Katara's cool stare, unperturbed.

"Hey" He said.

"Hello Zuko." She hoped her tone told him that she wanted to be left alone. Zuko shifted his weight from one foot to the other, as he continued to stand just inside the courtyard entrance.

"Do you mind if I...?"

"Please. Sit. Don't mind me." Katara laced her voice with sarcasm, but either Zuko was more dense than she suspected or he was deliberately ignoring the tone to sit amicably beside her. She edged to the edge of the bench, trying not to make a big thing of it, but the way that Zuko hesitated told her that he noticed. _At last, a response._

"I didn't think I'd find anyone else here. I like to think here. It reminds me of the Royal Garden in the Fire Palace." Katara loosened her tight shoulders. She found it very difficult to be angry with Calm Zuko. Angry Zuko was much more her style.

"I notice you aren't packing to go with Aang. That was a pretty bad fight you guys had." It wasn't a question it was a statement of fact, and now Katara's thoughts had returned to Zuko as the possible way out of an explanation again. _It would be so easy. He's right here, why don't I just ask him?_

"I was wondering. Would you like to come back with me to the Fire Nation Capitol? I want you to do for me what you did for Aang, talk to the people and tell me what they think. I can't go and talk to them, I'm the Fire lord and they fear me, like they feared my Father." Katara felt like there was something that he wasn't telling her, but she couldn't help but give him a smile.

"Thanks. I really didn't know what to do."

"No problem. And I want to give back to you, after my family took so much away." They both knew he was referring to her mother.

"You can't keep feeling guilty every time anyone mentions the war, or anything associated with it. Yes, fire nation soldiers took my mother, but _you _ended the war. You are a hero."

"How can I not feel guilty when everyone looks at me like they hate me, even my own people. I'm the Fire Lord, and that's been a title that has haunted them and crowded their nightmares for a century. They have every right to hate me."

Katara pulled herself close to him and put her arm around him. Zuko Relaxed into the embrace again, and they enjoyed the companionship as they had before for a while longer, before hurrying off to organise their leaving arrangements. It would be a few weeks more before the Fire Lord left, but they both wanted to leave this city, full as it was of memories of past failures.

_**Please tell me what you hate :D **_

_**I have decided to start posting before the end of November, because I really want some feedback about Katara. I've had some real trouble writing her, and would really value any advice that anyone has. Trouble writing Katara is going to be a serious issue, as most of the fic will be from her PoV.**_

_**Ok, and I promise this is the last bit of thing that I will ask from people, but tell me about chapter length. Do you want fast, short chapters or long ones less often? I can probably do about this length of chapter twice a week if I push myself. **_

_**THANK YOU FOR READING! Here, have a #cookie**_


	3. Burning Resentment

_**Just a reminder I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters… Go watch the series so you know what's mine and what isn't. **_

_**Any inaccuracies in terms of OC and random bits of plot changing are my entire fault. Also thanks to cinemascope08 for the first review. Have another #Cookie**_

**Burning Resentment**

Zuko and his retinue cut a swathe through the jostling crowds in the Middle Ring of Ba Sing Se. Part of him hated the way that everyone stared at him as he walked, hated the necessity of the eight guards, all firebending and swordfighting masters, and longed for the time when he had been content, serving tea in his uncle's tea shop in the lower city. Now he couldn't look at the people selling crafted metal and not think about the exports of steel from his factories, he couldn't smile at a young boy juggling with fruits without causing him to drop them all and bow to him, a look of unease in his eye. Zuko didn't care what Katara said, he was hated and feared, and it was very difficult not to be reminded of it everywhere he looked.

He was here looking for a gift for Mai. His conversation with Katara and her problems with Aang had reminded him that he spent much of his time taking Mai for granted, and he wanted to show her that he did appreciate the support that she gave. She was always there for him when he had problems with belligerent council members, and she massaged his shoulders in long sessions that often led to other things that eased his tensions. He smiled at the thought, as he browsed through the trinkets and other shiny things. The merchant mistook his smile for want of a particular gift, and was insistent that he take it for his 'lady friend' for nothing, despite Zuko's insistence that he should pay. Eventually Zuko was back on the street again, a small brown bag in his hand holding a pair of blue earrings that he was sure were not a good gift for Mai, but he had been completely unable to back out.

He wandered the streets for a few minutes longer, hoping against hope that he would find something soon, as the glances that were being thrown his way became increasingly more hostile. The streets seemed to be getting busier and busier, and Zuko wondered where all these people were coming from. His progress became increasingly slow, until he gave up and started to walk with the flood of people, seeing where it was they were all going. It was not back to the Upper Ring as he previously thought, but to a square surrounded by small cafes and other shops, and to Zuko's delight he saw a small jewellery shop amongst the stalls festooned with fabric and food. He was on his way there, when he saw at last what the crowds of people were flocking to see. His guards parted the people in front of him as he picked his way across the cobblestones to better see the frozen figures.

There were eight of them, each wearing the colours of a nation, a man and a woman each wearing red, blue, green and orange. The two in orange were on the floor, the woman lying prone on the ground as the man held her in his arms, a picture of grief on his face. He was turned away from the other figures, and could almost be a separate display, were it not for the gaze of one of the other performers. The other six were standing close to one another, tight in a pack with the tiniest of gaps between them. The woman in blue was looking at those in orange, and seemed to be about to raise a hand towards them as her eyes filled with longing. The man in blue beside her was barely touching her, his shoulder thrown protectively across her as though to shield her from those in red and green. There seemed to be a fight going on between the red and green performers. The woman in green was on the floor, a basket lay on its side, its contents spilled before her, and the two remaining men were fighting over the produce. Their hands pushed against each other's faces as they fought for the few tiny carrots and potatoes. Finally the woman in red stood to one side, her arms folded across her chest and a cruel smile curling her lip as she looked down on the woman in green. They were all still, though the position of the two wrestlers looked uncomfortable, and Zuko was astonished at the skill.

However, the meaning was not lost on him, and he stormed through the rest of the crowd to come face to face with the performers. The crowd hushed and the performers flinched slightly as he approached, but quickly all wore their masks again. Zuko raged internally at the way that his nation was portrayed, and was ashamed at how much the woman in red reminded him of Mai, but he realised as he approached them that he couldn't condemn them for expressing their views, not if her wanted to maintain his precarious position on the Fire Nation throne. He cooled and stepped back, giving himself a moment to still his raging thoughts before smiling appreciatively at the skill and tossing a small coin into a conical hat that lay upturned on the ground in front of them. It made a small noise against the other coins in the basket, and Zuko turned away, the crowd parting before him and allowing him to find the shop he had seen before.

He bought something quickly. The square was still quiet around him, and he just wanted to get back to the Earth Palace and give his gift to Mai. He was worried about her distance and wanted to show her that he still cared, even though his nation demanded his attention. Part of him was angry that she didn't seem to understand that being the Fire Lord was a lot of work, but he soldiered on through the hurt feelings and times spent apart for those rare moments when she smiled at him.

He was almost back at the upper ring, when a small boy approached him. He was dressed in dull greens and greys that were covered in grime from the streets, and couldn't be older than six or seven years old. He wandered up to the Fire lord, seemingly with nothing to fear and held out a small box towards the man.

"Please Fire Lord," The boy bowed as he held the box aloft. "Do you have any food? My mother is ill, and my sister is hungry."

Zuko looked down at the boy, barefoot and skinny, his clothes held together more by force of habit and the mud that had solidified than any integrity in the fabric, and smiled sadly.

"Here, have this. I was going to give it to my friend, but you may be able to sell it for food." Zuko passed over the delicately crafted bracelet that he had bought for Mai, and the boy looked as it glinting in the sunlight, his eyes wide with astonishment.

"Thank you Fire Lord. I don't believe them that say you're not nice. I never believed them folks who say you'se a bad man." And with another bow, the boy ran off down to the Lower Ring, his prize clutched in his hand. Zuko couldn't help but smile as he watched him run off with a skip in his step, and fondly remembered when he was as easily pleased by such a simple gift.

* * *

><p>Katara was wandering the halls of the Earth Palace aimlessly. For once she didn't want to enjoy the solitude of the secret garden that she and Zuko had shared, but instead she wanted to be with people. But not the servants and courtiers who would bow and pontificate to her because she was friends with the Avatar and Fire Lord, or the Earth Kingdom nobles who would look down on her for exactly the same reasons. No, she wanted people to look at her like a normal person, to remember that she was a human being with feelings and wants and needs beyond those of the Avatar and the Southern Water Tribe. Those things were important to her too, but she felt like increasingly she wasn't allowed to have any opinions that weren't politically motivated. She knew that it was just the lengthy discussions and negotiations getting to her, but she still wanted a normal half hour before she had to face the world again and be Master Waterbender Katara.<p>

The halls were oddly quiet in this part of the palace, and the odd bustling servant made her jump when they appeared in the corridors that seemed to swallow sound. It was only when she rounded a corner that she saw the old man on the floor, his cries muffled as he tried to sit up. Katara ran to him and propped up his head, before looking down at his face.

It was Advisor Hipau, although Katara could barely tell. His face was a mess of burns, and as he opened his mouth to let out another muted cry she saw that the burns extended into his mouth and throat, searing his lungs so that he could barely breathe. Katara looked around, as there was no way that this had happened more than a few minutes ago and he remain alive. Assuring herself that there was nobody to be seen she returned her attentions to the injured man on the floor and called water to her, moisture from the plants that were planted at regular intervals making a slight sucking sound as it was pulled through the air to pool around her hand, glowing as Katara infused it with healing energy.

She placed her hand on his scarred face and began to manipulate the water within his body to try and heal the internal damage. She could feel the way that the water was blocked as it encountered the scarred and damaged tissue that filled his lungs, and as she tried to shift it she felt Hipau convulse in pain, his damaged throat once again trying to scream to the spirits in an attempt to relieve the pain. Katara saw the tears squeezing out of his eyes, and pulled them from his face, using any moisture that she could to alleviate the pain, but as she worked she felt him take a final rattling breath and his eyes close peacefully, the muscles around his mouth relaxing from their grimace of pain and his whole body relaxing. Katara continued regardless, and forced the blood to flow around his body for a moment longer, but she soon had to give up as he no longer responded to her touches and she sat back wearily, allowing the water that she had been bending to pool on the floor around her.

_Dead. He's Dead. I couldn't save him. I failed. Dead._ Katara felt the world around her go grey, and all she could see were the empty staring eyes before her, their gaze ever unseeing of the ceiling above.

It wasn't long before a servant stumbled across the still numb waterbender and the dead man that lay across her knees. The servant fled in hysterics, and soon returned with a group of soldiers, who pulled an unprotesting Katara to her feet and led her away. Katara didn't even look back at the man she had failed to save, and was more than happy when she was returned to her room, even if the door was locked and bolted behind her. She buried her face in the pillow that lay at the head of her bed, and tried very hard to think of nothing for a very long time.

* * *

><p>Zuko was jogging along the corridors of the Earth Palace, breathless from his run up from the outskirts of the Upper Ring where he had stopped to buy a replacement gift for Mai. He cursed as he recalled that he had left it on the counter, but put that to the back of his mind as he finally made it to the Throne Room of the Earth Palace. He had grown to hate this place over the last couple of days, but this was a meeting that he could not miss. The summons had sounded urgent enough that he had cast aside dignity to be seen running through the streets. He stopped just outside the doors and composed himself, taking a few deep breaths and adjusting his top knot, slipping his Fire Lord Hairpiece over it and opening the doors sedately. Nobody commented on how his cheeks were still a little flushed, and as he sat, his face mirrored the grim expressions of the others around the table.<p>

"Is everyone here?" King Kuei's face was a mask of solemnity, and for the first time Zuko felt that he could hear the king that he was growing to be in his voice. "Right, then I would like to draw everybody's attention to the matter at hand."

"I am sure that many of you have found this out through your own sources, but it is believed that Master Waterbender Katara of the Southern Water Tribe has killed Advisor Hipau. She was found with his body in her arms earlier today, the evidence of waterbending clearly around her, and she made no protest when she was arrested and taken to her rooms, where she is currently detained."

"What?" Zuko looked around and saw that Iroh had cried out even before he had the chance to rise to his feet. "We all know that Lady Katara is incapable of harming anything, much less killing a man. Tell me, how did Hipau die?"

"He was found with his lungs full of water and severe burns all over his face and neck. She had clearly tried to make it look like a firebender was the cause of his death, but she was caught red handed at the scene."

"Surely you know that she is a healer? Have you checked his mouth and throat to see if there was any fire damage inside him?" Zuko's voice was low and even, though rage stuttered under the surface.

"We have not examined the body thoroughly yet. Lady Katara has remained quiet and placid, and has not defended herself that we know of."

"Have you asked her any questions?"

"No, we were going to question her before this council. She will be tried fairly by those here present." Zuko was sure now that King Kuei was not saying any of this of his own volition, as it sounded too neat and rehearsed. His response was cut short however, by the opening of a pair of doors to one side of the throne room, and the entrance of Katara. Zuko immediately looked in her eyes and saw how dazed and empty they looked. He feared for her, and immediately stood and went to her. Ignoring the protests of the other councillors he immediately wrapped his arms around her, and felt her rapid breathing as she stared into nothingness. She relaxed in his arms, and it was only a moment before she started to weep.

"I... I couldn't... I didn't... I tried..."

"Shh. Shh." Zuko smoothed the hair that fell untidily down her back and simply held her for a long while. He could hear the arguments behind her, as Iroh continued to argue Katara's defence, but for now he could put them out of his mind, and focus on steadying the traumatised Waterbender in his arms.

* * *

><p>Katara was soon seated on a chair that faced the other members of the meeting, except for Zuko who insisted on standing behind her. She held a small handkerchief that Zuko had lent her, and she occasionally dabbed the corner of her eyes as the image of the dead man, his face going slack as the pain finally ended replayed itself in the inside of her skull over and over again.<p>

"You say you were never once inclined to dislike Advisor Hipau?"

"No. I disagreed with him often, but I also disagree with my father often, and I have had ample opportunity to kill him."

"So you harbour ill feeling towards Chief Hakoda too?"

"No that is not what I meant!" Katara was fuming that she could be treated this way. The rage was almost blocking out the memory of the pain that she saw in Hipau's eyes as she struggled to heal him. "I mean, that though I may dislike someone, I would do almost anything to not kill them, I think the only person I've ever wanted to kill was Zuko once, and we made up." Katara felt the comforting hand of her former enemy on her shoulder, and she could imagine his wry smile. She felt great for a moment, then she saw again the moment when death washed over her patient, and she began to take short breaths, the inexplicable panic washing over her again.

"I think that it is clear Katara is extremely distressed by the idea of a man dying in front of her, let along killing him herself. I don't see why we have to continue questioning her." Zuko's hand on her shoulder tightened as he spoke, and she was comforted that he had felt her change in mood.

"Well, who would do such a thing? Assuming for the moment that the girl's statement is the truth..."

"That's Lady Katara, even to you King Kuei." There was so much venom in Zuko's words that Katara almost flinched.

"...Assuming that _Lady Katara's_ statement is truth, we still have a killer on our hands."

"I suspect Ozai Supporters." Said Iroh

"I agree with my uncle. They have been intent on destabilising my rule for the last year and freeing my father. What better way to undermine me than kill someone with firebending? They want the war back, and I refuse to let them. I worked too hard for this peace, sacrificed too much. We all did."

"We do not doubt that you want an end to this war, Fire Lord Zuko, we only doubt your motives for mentioning these rebels."

"What do you mean?"

"It is clear that you harbour affection for Lady Katara, and we don't want those feelings mixed up in what should be, foremost, a political discussion. Because this was clearly a political attack. Not only does it implicate two nations, but it is a vicious attack on a third nation, the host of the peace talks, and in a sacred space for the whole nation. This is supposed to be the most secure place in the whole world, and the idea that not only in Ba Sing Se, but in the Earth Palace itself Earthbenders are not safe... you have to understand that this is going to make a serious impression on national confidence."

"I don't see what this has to do with my political motivations."

"If the Earth Kingdom was destabilised by these allegations of yours, then you would clearly profit from..."

Katara stood, ignoring the continued drone of King Kuei and stormed out of the room. Everyone was so surprised that she was not stopped and she managed to walk straight out of the Palace, and down to the city below. Hot tears were streaming down her face, and she wasn't watching where she was going, simply walking and walking until eventually her legs folded under her and she sat in the street, weeping.

_**Sorry Katara has been a bit weepy so far. That's all about to change. Promise. Also, I only just spotted that the scene breaks had failed in my previous chapter, so I'll fix that now...**_

_**Please tell me what you hate :D **_

_**And have a #cookie for reading. They're fresh out of the oven just for you.**_


	4. Men of Action

_**Just a reminder I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters blah blah blah… Go watch the series so you know what's mine and what isn't. **_

_**Any inaccuracies in terms of OC and random bits of plot changing are my entire fault. **_

**Men of Action**

Katara cried herself into exhaustion before she looked up and took stock of her surroundings. She had made it all the way to the Lower Ring, where thousands of people lived in hunger and dirt. Her feet were bare and dirty, and her dress was now spattered in mud that was splashed by cartwheels rolling past her. She picked herself up and used the water in the mud to bend it off her dress and feet, and realised what a stupid thing she had done.

_I have spent too much of my time weeping over the last few days. I have to pull myself together. Now, I'm probably wanted, but the Dai Li are no longer operating, so I should be able to hide here for a bit. Just until everything cools down. They'll figure out I'm not guilty soon enough._

Her first priority was to find a place to stay. However, she soon remembered that she had spent almost no time in the Lower Ring, and she was soon hopelessly lost. The streets all looked the same, the close press of the dirty brown buildings obscuring any reference points that she may have used and making her loose her already blurry sense of direction. She kept a close eye out for anywhere that looked like it might be an inn or even a sign that said 'room to rent', and finally after nearly an hour of searching she found a place to stay.

She wandered inside the tavern, a sign painted over the door read "The Golden Mole'. It looked rough, but Katara could feel the water that was pooled all over the streets after recent rain ready to jump to her call, so she made to go inside. Just as she was about to go through the door, she had to shift slightly to the left as a pair of burly young men crashed through the light wicker that covered the opening, and rolled together in the street. A circle was quickly formed around them, and it was clear that they were both Benders. The older of the two men was pale skinned with long black hair tied in a knot on the top of his head, marking him as a man of the Fire Nation. The other was a short statured youth, whose green and yellow attire marked him as an earth Kingdom national, even without the characteristic almost blonde hair and green eyes. The other major clue about their nationalities was the rock and fire that they were throwing at each other, as the earthbender hurled insults at his firebending foe.

"You killed one of us. Even after the war is over. It is clear that your nation won't stop before all of us are your loyal subjects. Well, I have tasted peace, and it is nothing while your kind still share it" The cobblestones rose from beneath him and were hurled at the firebender, who cast them aside with waves of fire that knocked them just off course enough that he could dodge them. Katara thought she had spent too much time around Iroh and Zuko, masters of their element, as this display seemed half hearted. The battle raged on, until one of the stones hit a nearby spectator. His indignant shout was the only warning that the offending earthbender had, and he was soon facing two opponents. It was not long before he was joined however by a friend, who blocked the punches that the new adversary aimed at the duelling pair, and it was not long before a few more misplaced kicks and punches had half the street involved in the brawl.

A shop window was broken, and Katara pulled the water that lay on the ground around her into a frozen protective layer around her, dodging the glass that came flying towards her. She was soon dodging rocks, kicks and punches that seemed to be coming from everywhere, trying to edge her way back to the possible safety of the tavern that had originally been her goal. But she couldn't watch the people injuring each other for very long without her inner compassion stirring, so she resolved herself to try and stop the madness spreading. She elbowed her way through to the middle of the throng, freezing many of the offenders to the spot. A few unlucky earthbenders with their hands to the floor were frozen there, and firebenders found the flames that were pouring out of their hands stifled by a sudden coating of ice. All the time she moved through the crowd. She was sure that she was calming them down, as the street around her resounded less with the shouts of pain and the sound of punches hitting soft flesh, and more with the angry and frustrated shouts of people desperate to re enter the fray.

All the time Katara was shouting to people, trying to instil in them some idea of the morals that had been discarded in the heat of the moment.

"What happened to peace? Who wants to go back to the uncertainty of the war? We want to have an end to fighting. Some of these people are your neighbours, your friends. How can that be forgotten so soon?" Some of the fighters were listening to her, and stopped their assaults, instead joining Katara in her attempts to subdue the people all around her, but as she neared the end of the street, she saw that the fighting had spread, and that there was a shop on fire around the corner. The chaos had spread inconceivably quickly, ignited by a tiny fight between two hot headed youths. Katara watched the unfolding chaos and, for the first time since the war, almost despaired.

* * *

><p>Zuko took a moment to realise what had happened. Before he knew it, Katara had wrenched her shoulder from underneath his hand and run out of the doors that led to the front of the palace, the shouts of King Kuei coming a second too late to bar her exit. Then she was gone.<p>

"Go after her! She is still suspect in a murder!" King Kuei lost the cool and collected mask that he had been wearing, but Zuko didn't wait to see what the confused king was going to do next, instead rushing after Katara with the guards who had been manning the door. He felt his Fire Lord Headpiece fall off, and for a moment thought about the consequences of just running out of the throne room like that, but was soon too busy running to think about anything else. He was able easily to keep up with the guards, years of bending practice and deep breathing exercises aiding him in this long run, following the flicker of blue that would dart around corners. Zuko thought for a moment that Katara was aiming for the courtyard that they had shared, but she veered off that course moments before they would have entered the open space, and instead they were crossing the wide square that lay in front of the palace.

The wide gates to the Upper Ring were passed, then the ones to the Middle Ring, and finally they were traversing the tiny streets of the vast Lower Ring. The crowds here were huge, and Katara was winding her way through the press of bodies much more effectively than the group of soldiers and Zuko, who were trying to stay together. Zuko pushed ahead of the six or so soldiers and managed to keep up with Katara for a while longer until an unfortunately placed wagon got in his way, and he was forced to slow in order to avoid running headfirst into the load of cabbages that were piled on top of it.

By the time he had recovered himself, she was gone. The soldiers who had been attempting to follow caught up with him as he stood still at the crossroads where he had lost her, trying to decide which way she would have gone. Deciding that she was upset and probably thought more in straight lines, he barrelled forwards in the hope of seeing her by chance.

He wandered in the general direction that he thought she would have gone for a long time, and he could feel the sun setting behind the heavy grey clouds that filled the sky. It was an oppressive day, and there was a heavy mist in the air, that smelled slightly of smoke. Zuko returned to the crossroads, and saw there the cart he had run into before heading in the opposite direction to the way it had been travelling before. Zuko walked up to him and decided that he was probably a good person to ask about the presence of the missing waterbender.

"Excuse me. Did you see where a young girl in blue went? I think she might have run down back that way." Zuko pointed back to where the old man had come from.

"No. That's none of my business anyway. And you mind my cabbages! I have to get away from the fighting. It's always my cabbages that get damaged when there's trouble, nobody else's cabbages, just mine..." Zuko tuned out of the ramblings of the old man, and looked at where he had come from, as the cabbage seller trundled off down the street again. Behind him there were a few young men spilling out of a side road, rocks and other weapons clutched in their fists. He saw the odd pillar of fire, and his immediate thought was that the Fire Nation army had retaken Ba Sing Se.

_That's ridiculous. Pull yourself together Zuko. You are the fire lord. These are probably the retired soldiers who have come here to make a new life. There were a lot of them_. Zuko started towards the trouble, the old love of combat taking him over for a moment, when he remembered his quest in the city. _Find Katara. She has probably cooled down now. It's been a few hours. She will have gone back to the palace. She wouldn't stay here in the middle of the fighting. She hates violence. _And with that thought he began to make his way back to the gates that led to the Middle Ring.

He hadn't gone far when he began to see more evidence of fighting. People were running through the streets, randomly attacking anyone who looked fire nation, cries of "Death to the traitors!" following in their wake. A few fires were started by firebenders who tried to fight back, and he was almost crushed by a crowd of people running out of a building that was well alight. Zuko picked up the pace, desperate not to be caught by the fighting, but it was a full scale riot by the time he reached the gates to the Middle Ring. He banged against the tall, seemingly blank wall of stone, demanding access, but his retinue of soldiers had not followed him, they were probably still looking for Katara in the city.

"Let me in! I need to get to the Earth Palace."

"The city is in lockdown. Can't you see the riots out there? We've had this gate closed for the last hour."

"I'm the Fire Lord! I must get through!"

"Nice try. You're the third Fire Lord we've had. You want sanctuary as a Fire Nation citizen? Well you should have stayed back in the Fire Nation."

Zuko stared open mouthed at the guards in front of him, but had to flinch away from a projectile that crashed into the gates and break his gaze. Zuko whipped around to face his adversary, but saw a huge crowd of earth benders running towards him, their gazes' intent on the gates. Zuko turned back to the guards who were sitting atop the wall, and shouted a final question.

"Have you seen a young girl in blue come through here?"

"Nope. We saw her come down, but she hasn't been back. A pretty thing she was, I'd let her through if she came back this way." Zuko ground his teeth together, biting back a reply about how inappropriate their tone of voice was, and turned his attention back to the people rushing towards him, They were almost upon the wall, and deciding that discretion was the better part of valour, Zuko fled from out of their path, moments before they thudded into the huge stone walls, and the earthbenders that had been taunting Zuko were straining against the effort of countering the bending of the crowd who were pulling with all their strength to open the gates.

Zuko made his way back into the city, darting through the mess of people who were trying to get to the gates. There weren't many people actually fighting, it was mostly young men, ex-soldiers and disgruntled Earth Kingdom teenagers. There were shops and houses on fire, and part of Zuko wanted to stop at every fire and put it out. But he knew that if he did that he'd have no energy left to look for Katara.

It wasn't long before he saw the first signs of her passage. Here and there were spots of ice, some of them with people still trapped in its grip. Firebenders simply melted their way out, but earthbenders had to either wait for their body heat to melt the ice or grab a rock and smash their way out. Zuko spotted a few almost comical slips as people didn't see the ice and skidded along its surface, their feet escaping from under them. But it was when he laughed out loud and nearly took a boulder to the head from the enraged victim that Zuko sped up and simply followed the trail of ice. So wrapped up was he in the hunt, that he almost didn't see the two young children sitting in the middle of the road next to a young woman who was lying face down in the mud. Their cries pierced Zuko's hearing, and he turned towards them.

It was the young boy who had begged from him, was it really only earlier that day? He was looking all around him, an arm hovering protectively over a younger girl's shoulders, and when he spotted Zuko his face almost brightened.

"Fire Lord! My Mother. Will you help her?" Zuko's heart pulled at the pleading tone in the boy's voice, and he hurried over to the huddling pair. A fighter rounded the corner of the otherwise empty street, and started hurling rocks at the figures in the road. Zuko could see the dazed look in the man's eyes that said he had been drinking, and felt no shame at blocking the rocks with a wave of fire and kicking the man in the gut. He fell to the floor, the smack of his head on the ground knocking him out. Zuko turned back to the two children and crouched down beside them. They both looked up at him with round eyes, and Zuko bent over and shook the shoulder of the young woman.

He felt a slight pulse as he put a finger against her neck, and pulled her over onto her back, clearing the mud from around her mouth and putting a hand against her stomach. She was taking shallow breaths, but he sat her up and she coughed up more mud than he thought she should have been able to fit in her lungs. She groaned and went limp against his steadying hand. Zuko turned to the young children, putting his hands around the woman's limp form and lifting her into the air.

"Where do you live? You need to go home." The boy stood, holding his little sister's hand and pointed at a house at the end of the street. The house next to it was aflame, and as Zuko strode towards it, he felt with his bending how hot and violent the blaze was. The sight of him entering the house that they had indicated was suddenly obscured by a violent burst of flame, and a beam that fell to the ground behind him, burning with an intensity that caused both children to shield their eyes and cry out in fear.

_**I thought I'd never ask for reviews, but given that I have spent the last 3 days convinced that every email was a review notification...It made me quite twitchy, and then sad when there were none**__** :(**_


	5. Moving Against the Flow

_**Just a reminder I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters blah blah blah… Go watch the series so you know what's mine and what isn't. **_

_**Any inaccuracies in terms of OC and random bits of plot changing are my entire fault. **_

**Moving against the Flow**

Katara continued to weave her way through the crowds of people, no longer looking to stop the people fighting, but simply trying to survive the way back to the Middle Ring. She was travelling with the flow of people, everyone desperate to escape the worst of the rioting. The air, heavy with fog before the sun had set, was now heavy with the smoke that poured from the worst hit areas of the city.

As she approached the gates to the Middle Ring the crowds grew thicker, until the press of bodies was so close that there were cries as people were trampled under the weight of so many frantic citizens pressing into a small space. Katara looked ahead, a momentary break in the crowd allowing her a view of the gates down the wide thoroughfare that cut through the city. Katara could see the gates - closed as though they had never been - and the people pressed against it seemed to rise up as though on a wave. She could see earthbenders manipulating the rock to form ladders over the gates. Occasionally their bending would be overpowered by the guards on the wall, and they would fall into the crowd below.

What is King Kuei thinking? He can't bottle up all the people like this. It's only going to create more panic. Katara knew that she wasn't going to get through this way, and so started to consider how her bending could help her. She was sure there must be a river that ran through the city, she seemed to recall that she and Toph had crossed one on the way back from the Day Spa all that time ago while they had been in Ba Sing Se to see the Earth King, but she had no idea if that river wound its way into the Lower Ring and would therefore grant her a way out of the terrifying chaos.

She began to press against the flow of people making their way to the gates, trying to convey the message that the gates were shut. Nobody was listening to her however, and they all pressed forwards, the terror and hope evident in their eyes. Katara eventually had to duck down and weave her way through people's legs, trying not to be crushed beneath the weight of people who had built up behind her. The only way out that she could see was to the left, and she tried to angle her progress in that direction. When she finally emerged in the narrow street, she was dismayed to find that it was a dead end, and she looked around her to find a way over the wall.

She looked down at her feet, and was frustrated to see that here, of all the places in the city, there was no useful puddle that she could use to bend. Katara stretched out her hands and pulled them towards her, drawing moisture from the air and into her hands as she squared off against the wall. She cast the water behind her, and used the formation of the ice to launch her onto the top of the wall, where she wobbled precariously for a moment before she steadied herself and looked around her.

The fog and smoke glowed in the light of the fires that had started all over the city. Here, above the houses, Katara was breathing in the thick smoke, and she coughed a few times before ripping a corner off her dress to tie over her mouth as she continued to gaze over the city. The crowds were thick in every direction, pulling and pushing against the crush of people trying to get out of the Lower Ring. Katara spent a moment wondering why they didn't go towards the outer wall, but panicked people don't usually act rationally.

Seeing that the streets were going to be too difficult to traverse, Katara used her place on the wall to launch herself up onto the roof of the house that she was next to. The tiles were slick with the wet soot that had settled on the baked tiles, but Katara bended the water up off the roof, and used it to stabilise her as she picked her careful way across the roofs.

She made her way back to the empty part of the ring. She was looking around for a safe place to jump from the roof, when a stray fireball smashed into the tiles by her feet. She yelped and went crashing down into the house below her, the tiles and wooden slats that had been holding her weight blasted apart by the force of the fire. The house beneath her was empty, and as Katara looked up from her position lying down on the floor she saw the timber frame of the house above her alight.

She struggled to her feet. As she stood, a stab of pain from her ankle caused her to double over, gasping for breath. She looked down, and almost threw up as she saw her foot turned in an unnatural position. Casting about her, she struggled to sense any water, instead feeling only the dry heat of the wood that crackled above her. The water she had gathered around herself before was on the roof, but as she tried to pull it towards her, it simply evaporated when it hit the fire. Her head was reeling in pain, and she was unable to keep hold of the dissipating mist, and she cried out in dismay as her sense of the water disappeared.

Katara grabbed a piece of broken wood, and she sat on the floor, ripping apart her dress. She could feel the head on the crown of her head from the fire, but if she couldn't walk then she would be consumed regardless, so continued to create strips of fabric. Closing her eyes in anticipation of the pain, she pulled her foot around until it was aligned correctly again, shrieking as the effort made her vision swim.

The thick splinter of wood that she had found was soon wrapped up against her ankle, supporting it and allowing Katara to pull herself to standing again. She thought for a moment about putting weight on it, but soon decided against that as the tiniest of pressures caused parts of her vision to go black. The house that she had landed in did however own a broom, and by crawling her way across the room to the corner where it lay, she managed to put its bristles under her arm and hop out of the building.

The road outside was empty now, the firebender who had caused her to fall long gone. Katara hauled herself along the street, heading away from any sounds that she might hear. She felt very vulnerable as she moved, but the sight of a puddle made her smile through her pain, as she sat beside it, and pulled the water up and around her foot. She felt immediately the soothing effects of the bending-cooled water, and the subtle pressure that told her the bones were beginning to knit together. She gritted her teeth as she felt something significant shift, but afterwards the pain subsided so dramatically that she gave a little sigh of pleasure.

So wrapped up was she in this careful manipulation of her ankle, that she didn't see the rock that flew through the air, its graceful journey through the writhing smoke coming to an end as it collided with the side of Katara's head.

* * *

><p>Zuko felt the wave of heat behind him, and turned just in time to see the horrified gazes of the two children through the door before a wall of fire obscured them from view. The rest of the house was fine, not a single flame to be seen, and so Zuko put down the unconscious woman on a mat he could see through an open door and turned back to the fire. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing, putting the fire in front of him into himself and he felt the heat receded as he calmed the flames, until finally there was nothing but a warm and somewhat charred plank of wood across the doorway.<p>

Zuko faced the wall that butted up against the house on fire and repeated the exercise, this time trusting in his sense of the fire rather than his sight to tell if the flames were fully extinguished. Fairly sure that it was all gone, he shouldered the fallen wood out of the doorway to see the smouldering shell that was left behind. The thick rock that made up the walls between the houses was all that had saved the whole street from going up in flames, and the stone shell of the house stood silently, the window and door frames stained black by soot.

The boy came up beside him as Zuko surveyed the damage and grabbed his hand. Zuko started at the unexpected contact, but could feel the boy shaking in fear as his hand gripped the Fire Lord's. He led him inside, the girl trailing behind as she held her brother's other hand and they made their way into the safety of their house.

During the long and noisy night, Zuko cared for the young woman. He looked down at her face, and was reminded of his mother, looking down on him like this when he had been ill. Occasionally he would hear voices outside, and he would peer cautiously out of the window, ready to defend him if they were rowdy and spoiling for a fight. Most were citizens coming back to their homes, their attempts to escape the Lower City foiled by the might of the walls between the rings. Some of them came in to see who was in the house, and Zuko was warmed at the sense of community.

One woman came in with a pot of tea, and told Zuko to rest while she looked after the woman. Zuko was told that the woman's name was Ina, and the boy and girl were Teru and Oba. He thanked the older woman, Lin, and lay down on a mat that was stowed in a cupboard in the kitchen to catch a few hours of sleep. He took a long while to find rest, and as he lay on the mat, the smell of smoke all around him, he finally had time to think on the day's events.

Katara is still in the Lower Ring. I have to find her and take her back to the Palace. I need to be back at the palace. What must they think, after I ran off like that? I need to go back and fix this. For a moment Zuko contemplated the trusting, almost adoring look that Teru gave him whenever he saw him and the smile of appreciation that he received from Lin as he had cooled the bruise that had blossomed on the brow of Ina. But would it be so bad trying to make a little bit of difference in this little part of Ba Sing Se? Not being hated, but trusted to protect people. Nobody need know who I am. It will be like the Blue Spirit, only this time I don't have to take off the mask. He missed his swords, but felt sure that he would be able to find some kind of weapon that wasn't his firebending to help him. And I can keep looking for Katara. I'll just be staying here most of the time. With that decided he settled himself down to fall into a deep and restful sleep

* * *

><p>When Zuko woke, he was sore from the previous day's exertions, but he was relieved to find that there had been no trouble overnight. He was very awake, more so than he had felt in a long time, and he stretched out his sore muscles as he made his way lazily to his feet. The air was still thick with smoke, but the sun was forcing its way through the early morning smog and invigorating the firebender as he sat to meditate. He was soon interrupted however, by the coming into the kitchen of Lin, who had an empty pot of tea in one hand and supporting an unsteady Ina with the other. Zuko rose gracefully from his seated position, and helped Ina to sit at the low table that sat in the corner of this front room, and she thanked him for his kindness.<p>

"Good to see you're up young man." Said Lin as she bustled over to the stove in the corner of the room and started a small fire to heat more water. "Do you want any tea?"

"Yes, if you don't mind."

"Mind? Of course you can have something for all the work you did yesterday. I hear from Teru that you put out the fire in my house all by yourself. A shame that it was already pretty much gone, but I'm sure that the whole street would have gone without your efforts. And the rain last night should have put out the worst of the remaining smoulders. I have no idea where you could have found that much water to put it out, but I'm glad you did." Zuko took the offered cup of tea, not entirely sure if he felt guilty or relieved that the old woman hadn't guessed he had put out the fire with firebending.

"And thank you for looking after Teru and Oba. I was caught by surprise by a firebender as we left our house. I thought for sure that they would be hurt in the fighting, but when the house next door went up, I had no choice but to leave." Ina's voice was small and frail, and she looked older now that she was conscious and cleaned up a little by Lin. She gave a weak smile, and sipped her tea, a look of purest happiness passing over her face as she enjoyed the warmth that made its way into her belly.

It was not long before Teru and Oba came into the room and crushed their mother in a fierce embrace. Zuko smiled at the incessant chatter that Teru was throwing at his mother.

"You're all ok now, because the Fire Lord came and saved you, and I knew he was good from the beginning because he gave me the bracelet, even though you wouldn't let me sell it and insisted that we should wait and give it back, and now you can give it back because he's here and I'm sure then he will go and find his friend to give it to her. I assume it's a her, because not many boys wear bracelets..."

Teru was cut off by Lin pulling him off his mother and allowing his silent sister to climb up on her knee and curl up into Ina's stomach. Zuko looked down at them with a small smile on his face, but it was the movement to one side that caught his attention. Lin was still clutching a wriggling Teru in her arms, and holding him close, her body angled as though to shield him from the rest of the room. Her gaze was cold and stern.

"You're the Fire Lord?" Lin's voice was wary. Zuko tensed up and silently cursed that he hadn't kept his identity a secret. He thought quickly about the story he could tell, and was reminded of his time in Ba Sing Se previously.

"I'm not the Fire Lord. I am Lee. I was just passing through the Lower Ring when I was stuck because of the Riots."

"But you look like the Fire Lord who gave me the bracelet." Teru gave a final wriggle and was free of Lin's grasp. Zuko thought frantically and spluttered out the only thing that he could think of.

"I... was... on my way to ask for the role of Fire Lord with the Ember Island Players." Zuko's mind whirred frantically. "They were auditioning in the Middle Ring today." Zuko was fairly sure the Ember Island Players were in town. They seemed to appear wherever there were more than two of the original 'Team Avatar' in one town, and put on their now world renowned, if somewhat revised, version of 'The Boy in the Iceberg'. Zuko had only been to see the performance once since they had changed it, and other than the fact that the Avatar won against Ozai and Sokka's jokes were worse, very little had changed.

"I remember going to see that." Ina said. "But your scar is on the wrong side."

Zuko ground his teeth together as he answered. "I was hoping they'd overlook that, in the face of my resemblance to the Fire Lord."

"Well, good luck to you young man. But I must say, you do look like you're from the fire nation. Why are you here? You could have auditioned back at home." Lin was still stood cautiously on the other side of the room.

"I came for... the celebrations." Zuko's brain felt like it was going to lose track of all the parts of his story in a moment.

"I think that's the root of the problems, those celebrations. All those rowdy fire nation soldiers come to drink and party, there was bound to be trouble." Lin was now moving about the kitchen again. She pulled a couple of packages out of a cupboard and began to prepare the contents, before putting them in a pot of water that had boiled on the stove. "It was an honour to be chosen as the host city for these talks, but I don't know why there had to be such a celebration and feast about it. We should be more respectful of the dead, not declaring a holiday."

"I think it's nice. I never get as many tips for my show as I did on that day. Everyone was happy, and we were forgetting. I think at the moment I want to forget." Ina's face was sad, and Zuko saw the tell-tale look in her eyes that said she had lost someone to the war. Zuko looked at Teru and how he was playing with a set of small toy soldiers, painted in Earth Kingdom colours, circling a lone figure in red.

The smell of burning flesh that filled his nose as he ran through the streets, his arm flung over his companion as he tried not to stumble from the pain. His heart racing with irregular beats when another fireball came agonisingly close, deflected at the last moment by a shield of ice. The crumpled body that lay in the door frame as they ran through. The smell of burning hair when a soldier had his helmet flung off by a wall of fire that pushed out from the fist that had until moments previously been pointed at the pair that stumbled through the corridors of the palace.

"I think that we should have a day when everyone can talk about the war. When we don't need to hide the pain. When we can come together and be happy to be alive."

* * *

><p><em><strong>I'm not sure about the flashback thing... And I actually panicked when Zuko was recognised. I did warn you at the beginning that I have very little control over my characters. Luckily Zuko has picked up some tips about lying from Azula over the last year.<strong>_

_**These scenes were originally part of the previous chapter, but they ended up taking longer to write than I thought, so I just gave them a chapter of their own. Then immediately after putting up the last chapter, I wrote them insanely quickly, so you get two updates in one day. Aren't I nice ;) **_

_**Please tell me what you hate :D**_

_**Also, special #reviewcookie to PunkWolf32, **__**trumpetgurl92 and anonymous somebody**__**. Thanks for the support, and yes, I was finding it tricky to write Katara at first. She pulled it together eventually. She may have been having an off day. **_

_**And a belated #followcookie to Toph12341. Hope you keep reading, and please tell me what you think ;)**_


	6. The Street of Lost Souls

_**Just a reminder I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters blah blah blah… Go watch the series so you know what's mine and what isn't. **_

_**Any inaccuracies in terms of OC and random bits of plot changing are my entire fault.**_

**_This scene involves a potentially upsetting death. If anyone feels that it deserves to have the rating changed, please let me know, but for now I'm leaving it as a T._**

**The Street of Lost Souls**

Katara made her way into consciousness slowly. She first noticed the sounds around her, and how it seemed like every tiny noise was punching a dagger into her head. Her head pounded, and the pain seemed to focus on a single point on the front of her head. She groaned and raised a hand to her head, her eyes scrunching closed as she felt the angry lump that sat in the middle of her head. The sounds around her started to come into focus, first among them a woman's voice, close to her left side that seemed to be talking to her.

"...awake? No, don't touch your head, oh. Well, hands off and I'll put some more ice on it. And I need to check your ankle. We had to re-break it, as it had healed strangely." Katara felt the chilling touch of a cloth bag filled with ice on her head, and she flinched away from the cold, before relaxing into the soothing numbness that surrounded the bruise. She was enjoying the way her headache seemed to be disappearing, even though she knew it was only a temporary fix. She felt soft hands on her leg, and the pressure of a well-wound bandage was lifted, though she hadn't noticed that it had been there until it was gone. She took a sharp intake of breath as her ankle was prodded lightly by the woman, and Katara couldn't help but open her eyes at last, trying to see what she was doing.

At first the light was blinding, the tell-tale bright yellow of morning sun streaming across the white painted ceiling above her. She could see movement in her peripheral vision, and as her eyes slowly became accustomed to the bright light, the woman at her feet came into focus. She was thin and stern looking, kneeling down by Katara's feet in a plain green dress, her hair tied back in a severe bun. A few hairs had come out of the bun, straggling down in her face and sticking in her eyebrows, and her dress was wrinkled as though she had been sleeping in it. When she looked up into Katara's eyes, she saw a contemplative and curious look, as the deep brown fading to green looked straight into Katara's azure blue.

"I recognise you. Do you know Iroh?" Katara's eyes widened and she nodded, using her hand to keep the bag of ice from sliding down to her nose.

"Hmm. Thought I'd seen you here before. Anyway, I'll get you a drink, and lunch is in twenty minutes." The woman was all business and stood abruptly after briskly re-wrapping Katara's ankle.

Katara was left alone for a few minutes, and she used the time to cautiously look around her. She was lying on a soft mat against a bamboo wall, the room around her large, with a low ceiling that made for an intimate space. It was familiar, and so was the woman who had tended her, although she couldn't place either. Around her were the low voices of others, lying on mats like Katara, and speaking to the women who wandered between them. Some bore trays with food or drinks, and others held bandages. Those kneeling beside the men and women on the floor were changing dressings and helping the more helpless of patients eat or take a drink of water

_It's a hospital_ realised Katara eventually. Her head was still a little muggy from being knocked out. A young woman came to her, a glass of water in her hands, and helped Katara sit up and drink.

"Your compress has warmed up. Here, I'll get you a new one before it drips all over you." Her smile was pleasant, and while she too wire the green dress and severe bun that seemed to be the uniform, her hair was cut in bangs that bounced just below her eyebrows, and her hair was a pleasant shade of dirty straw that Katara found unusual.

"Don't worry." And with a light flick of her wrist, the water that had soaked into the cloth of the bag was frozen again, though Katara gasped at the sudden cold against her tender head. She realised what she had just done and froze, turning cautiously to look into the eyes of the woman who was holding her upright. Her eyes were wide, but not filled with the mistrust and hostility that her waterbending usually elicited. She had previously thought not to reveal her waterbending abilities until she was able to return to the Palace, but it seemed that she had become too reliant on it.

"So you're a waterbender? Tell me, have you ever done any water healing? The girl's eyes were wide and hopeful, and it was then that Katara realised that she couldn't be much older than herself.

"Yes, I can heal with my abilities." She thought back on those she had helped as the Painted Lady, and on the long hours nursing Aang and Zuko back to health after they had been hit by Azula's lightning.

_"Help me up."_

_"No, Zuko, you have to stay in bed for a few more days. Trust Iroh to stop complete chaos for a little longer."_

_"But it's my duty. I have to talk to people." Katara saw the grimace of pain as Zuko used his injured arm to try and push himself upright, but it only took the lightest of touches to get him to lay back on the opulent bed. It had been three days since that famous Agni Kai, and everyone else had arrived the previous day, just in time for Zuko to wake up. He had been drifting in and out of consciousness since he was hit by lightning, and the blossoming burn on his chest was wrapped tightly. _

_His right arm started to twitch. This was a symptom of the lightning that they both fervently hoped would soon disappear, and his left clamped down onto it, staring as though the force of his glare would convince the abused nerves to obey completely once again. Katara pulled some water out of a bowl set on one side of the bed for this purpose, and massaged it gently into his shoulder, the water stopping the random signals going to the nerves and healing them just that little but further. Katara knew that it would involve a lot of healing before they were completely better, but each session brought a little more relief to the ailing Fire Lord. _

_"When can I go out and peak to my people. I need to assure them that the war is over."_

_"Iroh was here only an hour ago to talk to you, you know what he has done to call off the war. All the generals are returning here, the armies are in the process of retreating to the westernmost colonies, and your address is in a week. Calm down and _rest_" Katara gave a sigh of mock exasperation, and Zuko flashed her a wry smile, his eyes closing as he relaxed back into the soft mattress._

_"How is my sister?"_

_"She's not nearly as violent. We've managed to get close enough to unchain her and secure her in her room in the bunker. She's got some food and drink, but she hasn't eaten it yet." Zuko nodded and relaxed still further into the mattress. Katara thought for a moment that her would be swallowed by it, but he stayed just about in sight, the bandages stark in white against the red and black that was the dominant colour of the whole room. _

"Well, do you want me to get you some water so you can hel yourself? it would be useful having another bed, we're starting to run out of space."

"Wait. How long was I asleep?"

"You were brought in two days ago, late in the evening. so you've been asleep for at least a day and a half."

"And the riots are still going on?"

"Yes. The gates ot the Middle Ring were forced open yesterday afternoon, and the chaos has spread again."

Katara looked around her again, and this time saw young women with burns on their hands and arms, men with bound limbs that looked broken, and faces shredded by gravel or sword strokes. There was an older woman, her hands burned almost to the bone and moaning in pain as salve was applied to the raw wound.

"Water would be great. And then I'll stay and help."

A wide smile of genuine joy spread across the girl's face, and she propped Katara up against the wall before she stood to go. Katara put a hand on the girl's arm.

"If we're going to work together, I have to ask. What's you're name?"

"Yura. And you?"

"Ka...Kya." Katara wasn't sure why she felt the need for a fake name, but it seemed like the best way to be left alone here to do what she loved.

"Kya. That's a pretty name. Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon."

* * *

><p>The street outside was quiet at last, the night of fire and noise over for now. The air was hazy with thick smoke, and over the building Zuko could see the red glow of a fire. The small noises of the people sleeping in the room behind him reminded him that he should be getting some sleep while he still could, but the noises had brought back memories that were hard to ignore, and he found himself unable to close his eyes for the terrible things that he would see. It was nearing exactly a year ago that he had finally wrested power back from those loyal to Ozai, but only after days of further fighting and bloodshed after the Agni Kai with Azula. He had been weak, still suffering the effects of the lightening, and without Katara and the timely arrival of the rest of the Gaang that he had avoided death. Zuko out a hand to the scar on his stomach, feeling the shudder of remembered spasms in his arm, but he clamped down on the feeling with an iron will, and continued his silent vigil out of the window.<p>

He felt someone come up behind him, and tensed as he turned. It wasn't until he felt the small hand of Oba in his that he relaxed. In the two days since he had been here, the two young children had come to look up to him in a way that Zuko didn't know how to react to, so he simply allowed the young girl to hold his hand, the slight tremble in her body receding as his stillness calmed her. She put a hand up to his hip, and he reacted to the cue, picking her up and settling her in his arms. He had almost dropped her the first time she had clambered up onto him, but he had finally gotten the hang of the way that she demanded affection, ad was almost comfortable holding the small body close to his. She was cold, and burrowed herself into his warm chest. Zuko was aware that he was merely a source of heat to the girl, but he felt protective of the pair, in the same way that he had felt protective of Azula when she was young.

The two were still for a long time. Oba's breathing slowed until she was asleep, her thumb held loosely in her mouth as the tiniest snores pattered across her lips. Dawn broke, making its persistent way through the smoke that gave the sky a yellow and grey tinge that had permeated the whole city. Already, Zuko could hear the shouts of distant rioters, the rumbles of earthbenders manipulating the earth around their opponents, and occasionally the burst of fire into the air that marked a firebender's attack gone awry. Zuko looked down at the street that was slowly coming awake with the dawn, and felt protective of them too. These people sheltered him while he slept, and he could protect them in a way that nobody else could. With so many of their men lost or badly injured in the war, Zuko was the only defence they had against the influx of unruly rioters around noon each day. He had acquired a pair of swords that, while not as good as his Dao swords, served well in a pinch, and he had been able to surreptitiously use his firebending to prevent any more of the houses burning to the ground like Lin's.

The people behind him stirred, and Zuko placed Oba carefully on her mat. She protested sleepily as she noticed the lack of his warmth, but was soon asleep again. Ina was the first to get up, her head still sporting an impressive bruise, but she made her way downstairs to start with breakfast after a brief greeting to Zuko. Teru was next, wrapping his small arms around Zuko's hips as Zuko ruffled his hair affectionately. Lin was last, and Zuko helped her upright while she grumbled about old bones and early mornings, and finally the two were downstairs enjoying their breakfast together.

It was nearly an hour later, and Zuko had found a time to do some meditation. Lin and Ina had gone with Teru down the road to try and get hold of some food, and Zuko had been left to keep an eye on Oba. Zuko had initially been annoyed, feeling that if he could go into town with the women that he might see Katara, but had been beaten down by Lin's stare, and instead had taken the opportunity to do some firebending practice. He was well into the slow breathing of his meditation when he felt it.

A deep rumble ran through the ground, and while these had become common in a city full of warring earthbenders, this one was accompanied by a resounding creak that echoed through the house. Zuko leapt to his feet, convinced that the noise had come from nearby, and sure enough, the back of the house had a huge crack running up the wall. Zuko walked over to it and touched it gently, but the walls seemed to still be firm, and he ignored it, returning to his position in front of the pair of candles and folding himself back onto the floor. Another rumble moments later, however, caused him to leap up again as he heard another crack. This time a small piece of the wall fell off, and behind it Zuko saw a network of cracks running through the stone that had been masked by the slightly flexible plaster. His eyes widened with alarm, and another rumble caused more plaster to fall off, and this time from the ceiling above him. He heard a wail from above him, and he rushed up the rickety wooden stairs, the continued shaking of the house causing him nearly to lose his footing.

The walls continued to crumble around him, and Zuko knew now that this was no earthbender, but a full scale earthquake. Ripping its way through the city, it probably started by the constant strain on the earth by the workings of random earthbenders. Or it could just be its time. Zuko didn't care, as he arrived in the bedroom and scooped a wailing Oba into his arms. He steadied himself against the wall as the ground beneath him gave a violent lurch, but he managed to keep a steady hold on the small person in his arms. He was sure that he would stumble and fall, but he managed to get back to the top of the staircase as the next lurch caused the walls to convulse. Finally they could stand the pressure no more, and Zuko watched in horror as the back wall of the house fell away, revealing the rubble that was the only remains of Lin's house next door. Another bout of tremors and the floor that Zuko stood on rippled like fabric, the rock crumbling into dust where it flexed the most. Zuko looked up at the sound of another large crack, and was just in time to see the ceiling above him begin to break apart. Zuko flung himself to one side, away from the stone that was falling towards him, but into the space where the wall had once stood.

For a moment, Zuko was sure that he would fall, but he flung out both arms, and held firm to the remains of the floor. Oba was clinging to his neck and despite the wrench as he stopped suddenly, she was still holding on. Zuko pulled himself up until his chest was level with the floor, and managed to haul himself up onto the floor, sitting on the edge and looking down at the mess of rubble below that would surely have meant death, or at the very least broken bones if he had fallen onto it. His breath was coming in short gasps, and his heart was racing. The earth tremors began to subside, and Zuko clung to the whimpering Toddler as the final aftershocks rippled through the ground, the floor beneath him shaking only slightly.

When he moved, it was with great care. There was rubble everywhere, and the roof above was unstable. Trying to avoid putting pressure on the cracks, Zuko picked his way back to where the stair was still barely clinging to the wall, and started down the steps. He was unprepared when the biggest aftershock came.

It came suddenly, the earth rippling before it like a rope that had been flicked by a child in the street. The whole world heaved upwards, and the toddler in Zuko's arms flew upwards, a scream piercing through the sounds of the moving earth as it's high pitch demanded attention against the din. Zuko looked up and shouted, the whole world seeming to move in slow motion. His feet were still lifting from the floor, and his arms reached up to take a hold of his young charge, but she collided with the ceiling of the house, and Zuko saw fold abnormally against the solid stone. Zuko continued to reach up nonetheless, and his arms wrapped around her broken body as she plunged back to earth. Zuko was still travelling upwards, and one arm wrapped around Oba he held a hand up against the ceiling gas it began its descent, the rocks that made it coming apart in a deadly rain.

The stones were each the size of Zuko's head, and he curled his body around that of Oba's to protect her from the worst of the onslaught. He felt the rocks pound against his back and shoulders, and screamed as one cracked his shoulder. The arm that held Oba was immediately useless, and they both crashed back to earth, the pain that ripped through every part of Zuko's body preventing him from noticing Oba's silence.

It was some time before he could grit his teeth and ignore the pain. There were rocks all around him, covering every inch of his body and it was agony to move them out of the way. He uncovered himself and looked over to where Oba lay. First in his mind was keeping her safe. It was only when he saw her body, neck bent unnaturally and unmoving that he blacked out, the despair of failing at his task of protecting her breaking his will, and he slipped silently into oblivion, his uninjured arm cast across the rubble-strewn floor towards her.

* * *

><p><em><strong>I know that this was brutal on Zuko, but blame my friend J (who has yet to finish even watching the show, let alone appreciating my fanfiction) for this one.<strong>_

_**I was plagued by the #cookieOfGuilt all week for not doing any writing, but I had a bad day on Monday, and then was up all night having writer's block and then I was too tired on Tuesday to write, and then I had my birthday party on Wednesday and my birthday on Thursday coincided with one of my best friends suddenly leaving town, which was sad, and my grandparents came to visit on Friday and all over the weekend, and I had loads of choir things because it was the first Sunday of advent so... yeah... busy week. I have a feeling I'll be busy for most of the rest of the Christmas period, but I think it was just that week that was kinda hellish. And I am determined to finish my NaNo tonight, so await more writing with joy :D I am already halfway through the next chapter, so you should have some more by the end of the week.**_

_**First, I should really finish these maths papers...**_

_**Happy Thanksgiving to all you American peeps. :D Also, #ReviewCookies for everyone, as I have lost the list of reviews that I owe cookies to...**_

_**Please tell me what you hate :D**_


	7. Reunited

_**Just a reminder I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters. I do however own a drawing that I did of the symbols of the four nations which I am rather proud of. I'm just a little miffed that I accidentally did the Water Tribe one upside-down...**_

_**Any inaccuracies in terms of OC and random bits of plot changing are my entire fault. **_

**Reunited**

Zuko woke to the sound of a voice that he recognised. His eyes opened to a blinding light, and he immediately shut them again. The scarred side of his face was blissfully unfeeling of the bruises that seemed to cover every other inch of him, and he was sure that he must look like an apple that had been left at the bottom of a bag for weeks, beaten and bashed by the passage of time, only to be found when the smell finally permeated to the outside world. He heard the voice again, and this time he listened to the words that it spoke.

"I don't know where you've been, but I don't know if you heard about that little girl. She was dead. When they found you, you were holding her. Were you protecting her? You're always protecting people, when will you learn not to do it at your own expense?"

"Katara?" He recognised the voice at last. His voice was raspy from disuse, and he coughed. She gave a small gasp, and he could hear the smile in her voice as he spoke again.

"You're awake! Oh no, that means you heard what I said. Oh Zuko, I'm so sorry." Zuko was only barely listening to her though as her words finally entered his brain. Oba is dead. She trusted me, and I couldn't save her. Zuko's face screwed up despite the bruising that caused him pain at the movement, and he struggled to contain his emotions until the worst of them passed. When he felt in control again, he opened his eyes slowly, this time letting them become accustomed to the light slowly.

Katara's body was close to his, and he could feel her knees lightly against his hip. Her face was framed by the light, making her expression difficult to read in the semi darkness. Zuko tried to sit up, but was pushed back by Katara. He was grateful, as the burst of pain that had seemed to come from every angle was about to push him back anyway, and he didn't want to appear weak. Looking up into Katara's eyes again he whispered something to her.

"What about the others?" Katara looked at him with a puzzled expression for a moment before she realised what he was talking about.

"The woman and her son came earlier, but they went back home to begin mourning. They said that they were grateful for how hard you tried." Zuko let his eyes fill with the regret that he felt, and his eyes filled with moisture, though no tear fell down his cheek. Katara's blurred face was still looking straight at him, and she put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. They were both silent until another young woman came up to the pair and put down a bowl of water by Katara's side.

"Thank you Yura." Katara turned her head to smile at the woman, and Zuko saw bags under the waterbender's eyes, her face drawn and gaunt. She turned back to Zuko, and pulled his shirt open so that she could see his bare chest. Zuko felt a little self-conscious, but she had done this before while healing the lightning scar last year and Zuko thought it funny that they two of them had come full circle. A small chuckle escaped his lips which caused his abused ribs to complain, and Katara looked at him with a puzzled expression. She shook her head softly, and instead of pursuing the source of Zuko's amusement, she bended the water out of the bowl to form a layer around her hands, and placed them on Zuko's exposed chest. He winced a little at the cool water against his warm body, but was soon comforted by the way her hands travelled around his ribs, the pain lessening noticeably.

"Now that you're awake I can finish this off. I can tell that there is a broken rib, but can you feel any other pain that I may have missed? I don't want to accidentally set a bone wrong, because re-breaking and re healing is a pain. In every sense of the word." Zuko wiggled his toes and flexed the muscles in every part of his body, the tiny movements hurting, but not more than a bruise.

"I don't think there's anything."

"Good. Now, this will hurt. Ribs are the hardest." Zuko steeled himself, and true to her word, he felt a searing pain and a grinding as his rib bones realigned, and suddenly relief as the bones began to knit together again. He let out a small sigh when the pain finally receded, and enjoyed a deep breath, feeling the fresh air deep into his chest.

Katara moved on to the bruises that made their way all around his chest. These were healed much more quickly, and she moved methodically from his chest down and across his stomach and onto his legs. Zuko was alarmed to notice that he was naked under the blanket, and as he felt her hands skim over his most intimate area he reddened, though Katara seemed to be keeping a clinical distance. Handily there was no bruising there, so her hands did not linger, and the remainder of the healing continued without incident.

* * *

><p>Katara ignored the blush on Zuko's cheeks as she finished the healing. She had learned not to look at people like that, as she had healed people over the last few days. Continuing her work, she let the water down, and looked at Zuko's face. The worst of the bruising had gone without any healing from her, and Katara wanted to finish off the last bits there, but she was already exhausted.<p>

For the last few days she had barely slept. Her limbs were heavy with exhaustion, and she drank tea like water, needing a new boost every twenty minutes just to stop her eyes from drifting shut. She had tried sleeping, but she saw the faces of all the people that still needed her help, and soon found herself up again, feeding those who were weak, and comforting those for whom she could do no more.

Every person she couldn't save haunted her. So many came in with horrific burns, some having been left for hours in the rubble of wherever they fell. The earthquake had brought back people whose whole bodies were crushed, and all Katara could do was use Bloodbending to cut off the blood supply so that they didn't feel any pain. Everyone was so busy that nobody had picked up on how tired she was. It was only when she had looked at the dozing form of Zuko on the pallet that the last week had come over her in one long wave.

She looked at Zuko's face, the bruises angry in purple and green, and she put a water-covered hand on it, soothing away the pain and healing the broken capillaries, the colour fading to a healthy pink. The angry red of the scar on his face dimmed from a faint purple back to red, as the bruises that had been hiding beneath faded away. She swayed slightly where she sat, and put her hand down on the floor, steadying her weary body.

Zuko tried sitting up again, and Katara was too focused on not pitching forwards to notice until he put a hand on her elbow. She looked up at him, the blanket pulled modestly over his naked lower half and his eyes filled with concern for her.

"Where have you been? I've been looking for you."

"I've been here. I was brought here by someone, and I am useful here as a healer. It seems like the only place to be, seeing as I can't get back to the upper ring. It's still closed off."

"I know, I was there on the first day, just after they closed the gates." Zuko tugged on Katara's elbow and she couldn't help but look up at the serious expression on his face and feel guilty. "You haven't been taking care of yourself. How am I supposed to take you back to your family in the palace if you're too weary to walk?"

Katara drew herself upright. "I can walk just fine." To prove her point, she unfolded her knees and hauled herself until she was standing over Zuko, looking down at him seated on the floor. the room wobbled a little around her and she put a hand out to steady herself on the wall, but it slipped on the plaster and she found herself in a heap on the floor again by Zuko's side. Zuko gave a knowing smile and Katara fumed in embarrassment.

"I might be tired, but I have saved people's lives here. I don't have to constantly be in everyone's face for them to know that I am capable."

"Katara, you are perfectly capable. Capable people sleep too. It doesn't make you weaker."

"But I am the only one who can save them I have to save them all. I'm not good enough yet, some of them still slip away." Katara deliberately didn't think of Advisor Hipau's face as he had taken his last breath, or the faces of each of those who had not made it, even as she poured all her energy into healing them.

So lost was she in this that she didn't see Zuko move again. She allowed him to pull her up until she was leaning against the wall next to him, the warmth of his shoulder touching hers cutting through the chill that had settled on her exhausted body. She enjoyed the warmth, and let her head drop down onto the top of his shoulder, fitting snugly into the space beneath his jaw.

"Sleep now, Katara. I promise to wake you if you are needed."

"I'm always needed. I want to help. I want to be there all the time. I can't let them down."

"You're not letting them down. You're getting better. You'll be a better healer when you've slept."

"Mmm..." Katara nodded sleepily, allowing the warmth and Zuko's soft voice to lull her into sleep. "I thought I was the healer here." Her mumbled words were barely audible.

"You are, Katara. Don't worry."

* * *

><p>"Zuko wasn't sure how he had ended up with Katara sleeping against him, but the grateful looks of some of the other healers told him that he was not the only one who had decided that she needed a rest. Yura, who had brought her healing water before, picked up the used water, and scooped out a cup of water.<p>

"Would you like some tea? We're nearly out of anything stimulating," Yura gave the sleeping Katara a pointed look, "but you can have anything else you might want."

"Whatever today's special is?" Zuko and Yura shared a smile at anything as ordinary as a special having been chosen.

"Ginseng is always tea of the day, as you should well know. I am sure we can find some somewhere, but some fool told Katara it keeps you alert. Nonetheless, I am sure I can find some for you, Fire Lord."

Zuko was a little taken aback at the use of his title, but when he finally took stock of his surroundings it all became clear. He had visited his Uncle's Tea shop a few times when he had come to Ba Sing Se, and he had met a few of the staff. He wondered where the stern and bossy Jin had gotten to, but hardly had he thought of her than he heard her voice cutting across the otherwise hushed atmosphere of the makeshift hospital.

"Where is she? I told her that Orah needed to be seen next, and that she has spent far too much time on the Fire Lord. He is fine, and is not going to die any time soon. She needs to stop wasting her time and come here to someone who might actually die!" Zuko felt Katara stir slightly, but he lifted his arm and she slid comfortably down until her head was resting on his thigh, her hand curled up to cushion her head. Zuko put a hand on her ear to shield her from what he assumed was the root of her problem; and looked up to see Jin angling towards him. She slowed slightly when she saw that he was up and awake, but her gaze hardened again when she saw the pile of blue that marked the sleeping waterbender.

"Good Morning Fire Lord Zuko. I hope that you are well rested and feeling better?" She bowed respectfully to Zuko, and he tried to make himself feel imperial, despite his shirt lying open and Katara resting on his lap.

"Good morning Jin. I would like to thank you for taking care of me here. And for keeping Katara safe under you roof. I have been looking for her in the Lower Ring."

"She has been of great help to us here. We would not have saved so many were it not for her help. We took in a few of those initially injured, and have ended up as a hospital. I have a little knowledge of how to heal burns, which is one of the only hazards on a tea shop, but many other injuries are far beyond my skill. Many here are greatly in her debt." Zuko could see why she got along with Uncle, she talked like him.

"In that case, why has she been worked so hard that she can barely stand? Surely she is your most important resource here, and I would expect you to take better care of her."

"She pushes herself. She has become increasingly difficult to slow down, and I am only trying to help her sleep."

"I think that helping her sleep would better be accomplished by locking her in the back room that I know my uncle has here for when he stays late, and not letting her out until she has had a long sleep." Zuko had been scolding unruly council members all day every day since he had been crowned Fire Lord and as such Jin had very little hope when it came to fending off a scolding when he decided to give one.

Jin bowed her head in acquiescence. Zuko took pity on her, and when he spoke again his voice was soft. He was tired again, and he needed real sleep, having spent the last however long merely recovering. His head still hurt from the battering he had received, and he would be grateful to lie down and join the waterbender on his knee.

"I would be grateful if you would find a mat and put it here so that Katara may sleep a little longer. And I will sleep too. I expect that neither of us will be disturbed except in an emergency, and when we wake we will be more than happy to continue to assist you." Zuko was too tired to be truly polite. Sensing the dismissal in Zuko's tone, Jin bowed again, and set about finding a mat for Katara. When she returned Zuko carefully lifted the sleeping girl onto the mat and tucked the blanket around her. Sliding back down to lie down, he curled on his side for a few minutes, watching Katara's sleeping face, before he turned back to lie on his back and allow himself to sleep again.

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><p><em><strong>SO I FINISHED NANOWRIMO! WOOT! <strong>_

_**Either my Fanfiction writing is going to go AMAZINGLY now that I don't feel under too much pressure to just write AS MANY WORDS AS POSSIBLE, regardless of how many of them are good words, or it'll flop because I have completely burned myself out during November. Your reviews will decide which way this goes. The next chapter is nearly done already though. **_

_**I'm still having some issues with Katara, although I've just read a bit of fanfic with a situation remarkably like the one in the next chapter, so I'm just going back to tweak that now. I'm just going to accept that I'm better at writing Zuko, although I have yet to try Angry Zuko... I need the two of them to fall out over something... suggestions?**_

_**#ReviewCookie goes to Sarcasm22. Nice to see new readers around, and I hope you carry on reading :D **_

_**I have a lot of spare #ReviewCookies guys, and who doesn't love cookies?**_


	8. What a Difference a Day Makes

_**Just a reminder I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters.**_

_**Any inaccuracies in terms of OC and random bits of plot changing are my entire fault. **_

_**Also, I realised from some of your reviews that people think that Jin is the Jin that Zuko/Lee went on that date with. She isn't. I completely forgot that there was already a character called Jin when I named the woman. My Jin is about forty and bears a striking resemblance to a much disliked maths teacher of mine. Sorry if anyone was confused...**_

**What a Difference a Day Makes**

Katara rose with the moon. The beams of its full, round form caressed pearlescent fingers on her cheek, and her eyes opened to see the sleeping form of Zuko. His scarred side was facing towards her, and she watched the slow and steady rise and fall of his chest for a moment. She was warm beneath the blanket that was wrapped around her shoulders, and she nuzzled against her hands, feeling the texture of the rough blanket across her chin. A muted cry reached her ears, and she sat up.

_I've been asleep for the whole day! I need to get back to check on everyone._ Katara began to shift, but she felt a weight against her stomach. Zuko had flung out a hand in his sleep, and now it lay across her, impeding her movement as she tried to get up. She carefully peeled it off her, placing it on his stomach instead, and stood up, smoothing the wrinkles that had appeared on her clothes after sleeping on them for so long. She longed for another set of clothes so that she could wash and feel properly clean, but making do with a quick wipe with a clean cloth and some bended-cool water to wake her up was the best that she could hope for. She turned back and looked for a moment at the sleeping form of Zuko, remembering the feeling of leaning on his shoulder as she dozed off, before quickly setting back to work.

Nobody had died while she slept. She wasn't sure that she could have lived with herself if she slept through a death, and everyone was surprisingly well. Katara was aware that the rest made her head much clearer, and she enjoyed a cup of Ginseng tea to bring herself fully alert. She looked back down the tea shop and saw that Zuko was still sleeping, and gave a little smile. She felt a strange lurch in her stomach and put a hand there, unsure whether she was ill, or there was something wrong with the tea. She frowned down at the cup in her hands and her stomach rumbled. It must have been hunger. She finished the last dregs of the tea and grabbed herself a bowl of noodles boiled with peppers - not the most appetising of breakfasts, or whatever meal it counted as this time of day.

Her rounds went smoothly, most of the patients receiving a little of Katara's waterbending skill, but as very few were in a critical condition, she didn't feel he need to use it too much. She had learned that much at least from her sleep-deprived days. She couldn't heal everybody, and not everybody needed to be made completely better immediately. She was so used to travelling with Aang, and before that with the rest of Team Avatar, who all had to be in peak condition to fight off fire nation soldiers, or appear in front of hordes of starving Earth Nation people and save them all. The first time she had been too exhausted to even begin healing someone who had lost nearly half of their blood, she had almost screamed in frustration, except she had been too tired to do more than moan in frustration and go to find more Ginseng Tea.

Now she was fully awake, she managed to administer the suitable amount of healing to everyone in record time. The people coming in after the earthquake had slowed, and there was a team of people outside the hospital who were fending off all those desperate to find missing friends and relatives. Some did know the patients inside, but increasingly they were being directed to wherever it was that the bodies of those trapped in the falling rock had been sent. Katara tried not to think about all those who never even made it as far as the hospital, because she knew that she would despair if she thought about all the people that she would never get the opportunity to help. She heard the cries of those outside sometimes, and when she did she buried herself in a particularly tricky broken bone or something else of that nature, working as hard as possible to block out the sound of grief.

She found herself at Zuko's bedside again, and she looked again at the mark on his face. He would have been so handsome if it wasn't for his father. I wonder if I could have healed it under Ba Sing Se. Katara had offered to try to heal it again while she had been tending to him in the Fire Nation after the coup, but by then he had begun to see it as a badge of honour, and was loath to part with such an important aspect of his identity. Katara could see his point, but she still sometimes tried to imagine his face without it. She had a sudden idea, and ran into the back room where Jin was sleeping, and snuck back outside with a small hand mirror. Katara bent over Zuko and held the mirror so that his face was cut in half by it. It hovered just over his nose, and she looked at his face as it would have been whole.

He looked much younger, and Katara was struck by the fact that he was only eighteen. His jaw was narrow, in the manner that was characteristic of the fire nation, but well defined and tapering to a rounded point. His pale skin seemed to glow slightly in the moonlight, and it was framed by his jet-black hair that was messy around his face. He was peaceful as he slept, and for a moment Katara was captivated by the tiny twitching movements that he made as he slept, so much so that when his amber eyes opened she leapt back in surprise.

"Umm.. I was just... umm..." Katara blushed at having been caught staring at Zuko, and then not being able to find a suitable excuse.

"Well, the last time I woke up like that, it was my sister and a knife, so I suppose it can't be that bad." Zuko was smiling, but Katara was slightly horrified.

"I... was just... curious." Katara tried to surreptitiously move the mirror behind her, but it was caught in a fold of the blanket, and the furious motions of her toes were simply exposing part of Zuko's bare leg.

"Curious about what?" Zuko looked down at the blanket and saw Katara's foot failing to cover the mirror. He picked it up from under her, and he looked at her strangely.

"I was wondering what you looked like without your scar. I've always wondered. Ever since you refused to let me heal it after the comet." Katara tried for honesty, but was bracing herself for Zuko's reaction. He was difficult to read when it came to his scar, and while Katara knew it had something to do with his honour and banishment, she was never sure how he would react when it came up in conversation.

"I try not to think about it too much. I wonder sometimes, but I never really did anything about it." Zuko paused for a moment and looked up at Katara with a vulnerable look in his eyes. "How do I look?"

* * *

><p>Zuko was almost scared of the answer, He had never asked anyone about his appearance. Mai tended to ignore it, peppering his unblemished cheek with kisses when she was feeling warm towards him, and completely ignoring it when she wasn't. And nobody at court ever mentioned it. The closest he had come to talking about it with anyone other than his uncle was when the court painter came to do his portrait and asked which side he would like to be painted from. Given that all the other Fire Lords had been painted from straight on, Zuko knew that his uncle had prompted the question, offering Zuko the opportunity to be painted without his scar visible if he so desired. He was still unsure about his choice, scarred side forwards, but His uncle said that it make him look powerful.<p>

"You're very handsome. And you look younger. I think you would have had trouble convincing the council that you were capable if you were to appear in front of them without it." There was a long pause while Katara looked at him contemplatively. Zuko resisted the urge to move his hand up in front of his scar self-consciously.

"I like it. I was just curious." Katara seemed to be apologising, but Zuko wasn't blaming her for it. He might have thought of it himself if he had kept many mirrors aboard his ship as he was chasing the Avatar, or if he had been looking for it when he lived in Ba Sing Se, but by the time he was looking at his reflection on a regular basis he had almost stopped caring about it. Almost. He was sure he would never stop being conscious of it. Even if only because when he lay on that side, he couldn't feel the pillow beneath him, and if he woke up like that he felt like he was floating for a moment.

"Which do you prefer?" Zuko asked with a smile, but he was aware that it was a harsh question. Katara thought hard about it though, and even went as far as to compare the two images, bringing the mirror back to rest just above his nose a few times.

"With the scar. I think you look too naive without it. It has shaped you too much. And you do look older and... More trustworthy. I think if you didn't have the scar you'd just be a kid."

"I am just a kid. And I definitely was when I got it." Zuko wondered how much she knew about how he got it, and the look of surprise in her eyes told him that she knew very little.

"If you don't mind... Where did you get it? Was it an accident?"

"No. Not an accident." Zuko looked away for a moment, before pulling himself up into a sitting position. His expression was pained, and he knew this was not the right time or place to have this conversation. "Can we not talk about this now. I'd rather not talk about it." That wasn't strictly true, the way that Katara had of wanting to fix everyone made him want to tell her in the hope that she could fix this too, but this really wasn't the time.

He was saved form any further awkward conversation by the arrival of another patient, brought in from a collapsed building and still barely clinging to life. Katara rushed away to begin healing her, and Zuko watched her go, her face which had been playful and full of compassion and concern for him now business like and serious as she went to do what she did best - heal people.

Jin brought him some trousers and tea when he asked for them, and he dressed awkwardly under the blankets, finally standing as he pulled the waistband tight. He picked up the tea and walked to the side of the room where Katara was working. So that Katara could access her easier, she had been placed ona pair of tables that had been pushed together. Zuko looked at the patient and was horrified at the extent of the injuries.

It was a young woman, and she was covered in grey dust from the rubble. The ends of her fingers and toes were blue with cold, and her whole body was bruised. Part of one of her legs was burned, and the straight line that the burned flesh cut across her made Zuko thing that a burning piece of wood must have fallen across her leg while she was trapped, or possibly before. Katara was working on her ribcage, where cuts and scrapes failed to mask the way her ribcage was not the right shape. Her breath was coming in short gasps, and Zuko was shoved out of the way by a young attendant who was washing her leg with iced water, trying to draw out the worst of the heat from the burn. Zuko could tell that it was too late for anything as simple as cool water, but left the healers to it. He felt so helpless, but Katara had noticed him standing to one side, and motioned for him to come nearer.

"Her toes and fingers are cold from the poor circulation. I need you to warm them up, to encourage the blood to go there instead of her wounds." Zuko was more than happy to do so, and allowed the heat of his body to pool in his hands as he wrapped them around first one foot, then the other. His hands were dirty from the dust on her feet, but he could see the colour slowly returning, and he continued to move between the four extremities, keeping all four warm until there was not a trace of blue on any of them.

Satisfied that they were probably warm enough, he looked up to see what Katara was doing. She was sweating, her hands enveloped in the glowing blue of the healing water as her closed eyes and furrowed brow showed that she was healing with all her willpower. The ribs of the woman looked better now, and Zuko was surprised to see her eyes a little open, small moans of pain emerging from between cracked lips. On instinct, Zuko moved to her head and started to slowly dribble water into her mouth. He was rewarded by her hungry gulping of every drop that Zuko's shaking hand got through her lips, and he carried on, half an eye on the progress that Katara was making.

Katara was finally done with the woman's ribs, and moved onto her leg, where the burn was not as red and angry as before, but still dry and blistered. Zuko winced in sympathy as the woman sighed in pain at Katara's touch, but the water was soon glowing blue again, and the tight muscles between her brows relaxed as Katara's touch soothed her. Zuko forgot about giving the woman water as he watched the burn shrink and almost completely disappear, leaving behind nothing but pale skin, the patch white against the slight tan of the rest of her legs as the damaged skin peeled away.

Zuko was awed at the display of bending, and when Katara finally looked up, he saw the smile on her face. Katara joined Zuko at her head, and put a soothing hand on her forehead.

"You were lucky it's the full moon tonight. I think that's the best healing I've ever done. I haven't cleared up all of the bruising, and we'll check you again in the morning, but for now is there anywhere that you can feel hurts that I've missed?" The woman shook her head. "Good. I don't want to leave you in pain. Now my lovely assistant here," Katara gestured to Zuko, "Will find you some soothing Camomile tea to help you sleep, and hopefully he has improved when it comes to making tea since he last gave me any. I am certain you don't want any of his 'hot leaf juice'."

Zuko saw Katara's joking smile, but there was weariness underneath, and he was astonished that she had indeed gone almost four days without any sleep. The two of them came away from the side of the table, and Katara sidled up beside Zuko, leaning on him slightly for support.

"You have gotten better at making tea, yes?"

"You really think that being Fire Lord allows me time to have lessons in making tea? I haven't made a cup since before the comet, and I have had no inclination to."

"Hmph. In that case, you better go and find one of the people who actually make tea for a living. We're trying to make people better, not poison them." Zuko gave Katara a withering look, but she just laughed and punched him playfully on the shoulder.

_Of all the habits that she could have picked up from Toph, she had to pick the playful punching one. At least she isn't as strong as Toph. Or as mean_. Zuko rubbed his arm, and turned to face Katara, looking her straight in the eye.

"I will do that, but you are going back to sleep. I am sure that everyone will survive the rest of the night, but I can see that you are still exhausted. Go. Sleep. Now." Katara gave a weak protest, but she was no match for his strong arms and insistent gaze, and Zuko watched her fold herself back down onto the mat where she had been sleeping before. When he was sure that she wouldn't spring up again and begin another round of the patients, he returned to his task, smiling faintly at her petulant put at being told what to do.

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><p><em><strong>SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG! But there was another scene on the end of this one that I re-wrote about 500 times, and now I'm releasing this chapter without it in the hope that nobody kills me. Also, December is a crazy-busy month...<strong>_

_**#ReviewCookies go to snarkhunter, Sarcasm22, elayne cypher, Eternal Eyes and Anonymous Somebody. I LOVE YOU ALL! And yes, I was mean to Zuko. Really mean. But it's character development. Or summink. I'll get back to you on that one. Probably next chapter. Maybe.**_

_**ErraticRaven gets no #ReviewCookie until my oven is fixed...**_

_**Also, I now have over 1000 hits, so thank you to all you ghost readers too. Just remember; if you review, you get cookies :D**_


	9. Interlude

_**Just a reminder I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters.**_

_**This is a little drabble that I wrote which was never going to be part of this story, then I had an amazing idea (Ok, it may be slightly inspired by/stolen from **__**Eclipse**__** which is a frankly awesome fic) for a plot line, because I decided that I didn't like the plot that I'd been using so far. A bit too predictable, and typically of all my writing, I never got around to having an antagonist... Oops**_

_**Hope you enjoy, and normal service will resume in the new year :D **_

**Interlude**

A young girl walked through the city, her long hair billowing about her shoulders. The wind swept the ash that was piled up against the buildings in tiny whirlwinds, and the girl squinted against the dust that went in her eye.

An older man walked up to her, and she smiled at him, and fell into his arms. They held each other tenderly, and they both carried on down the street, their comfortable closeness obvious to anyone observing.

The streets around them were quiet. People cowered behind closed doors, and in the distance, a false dawn was lit by a flame that seemed to fill the whole sky.

Before dawn had truly come, the pair stopped outside a house, their faces suddenly sombre. It was like every other house that they had passed, save for the sound of screaming that wormed its way out through the closed shutters and door. The sound was louder as the door was opened, and the pair rushed inside, the closing door behind them muffling the screams once again.

The screams continued for a long time, but there seemed to be no movement inside. The cries rose in intensity, each one sounding as though it was caused by a soul being ripped from its home.

There came the largest cry of them all. There were shouts from other voices. Then silence.

A lone wail rose from the silence. The tiny voice pierced through the gentle rumble of the world outside and the flame that had held the sky in thrall for the whole day was but a memory on the horizon, and the true sun shone through the haze left behind.

New life. In the city that had known war and turmoil for too long, whose people had fled here in fear of their lives. This tiny voice, mere moments after the passing of the comet, was the first in the world never to know war. This first child of peace would never wake in the night to the sound of enemy troops walking past the door, its cries never quieted by a mother fearful for her life if she were found. She would grow and flourish amidst the ruins of battles that were fought before her time. No need to loose brothers and fathers and husbands to war, no need to run and hide at the sounds of drums.

Inside, the young woman lay beside the mother. They were identical in every way, save for that one lay on the bed, her hair plastered to her face as she wiped the sweat from her brow. The other held her hand, and in the other held a tiny bundle, the green cloth almost completely obscuring the person inside. The older man came up to them both and put a hand on the baby's brow. Tiny fingers came up and clutched his thumb, and he couldn't help but smile.

They didn't know that the war was over. Word had not come of the Avatar defeating the Phoenix King, and the Fire Prince defeating the Fire Lord in an Agni Kai that would live forever in myth and legend. Despite not knowing whether this was the end of days for them all, the older man spoke the child's name, and the household around him smiled with the love they had for each other.

"Maki."

True Hope.

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><p><em><strong>I also started (re-)reading <strong>__**Making it Work**__** By thatcoolkids96, and it bears a striking resemblance to my story... I may or may not have been reading it when I first started writing this one. Go and read hers though, because it is far better than mine could ever be.**_

_**Also... thoughts on Japanese/Chinese/Korean names. I have used Japanese here, because the Chinese (Xiwang) and Korean (Gidae) for Hope sounded a little off... But Japanese sounds too Fire Nation... I dunno... **_

_**#ReviewCookies go to ErraticRaven, yougotmycoat, Sarcasm22 and anyone else that I may have missed last time and this... Christmas is always insanely crazy for me. Hope you all had a great Holiday Season, and Happy 2012 :D**_

_**And please visit my Profile Page for a little info on a project that I am starting. I need the help of some Avatar Fanatics, and this seems like the best place to find them :D**_


	10. Frozen Fire

_**Happy New Year everyone :D**_

_**Just a reminder I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters.**_

_**Any inaccuracies in terms of OC and random bits of plot changing are my entire fault. **_

**Frozen Fire**

Katara was sure that she wouldn't be able to sleep while she could still feel the stimulating effects of the full moon on her bending, but she woke at dawn feeling fresh and bright. The bed by her side was occupied, but not by Zuko. Instead there lay a new patient, clearly having arrived while she slept. He was bandaged on both legs, and Katara had a quick peek at his injuries. They were burns, and Katara pulled out a whip of water from the replacement pouch by her side and healed him, the red of the burn replaced by the healthy pink of rejuvenated skin.

Happy with her morning's work already, Katara set about finding some breakfast. She angled towards the kitchen at the back of the room, when she spotted another new patient by the door into the kitchen, another that had been brought in while she slept. She absentmindedly used her sense of the blood to check the patient's wounds were healing, as she tended to whenever her bending was strong, and she gasped when she felt the stillness inside.

She knelt hurriedly down beside the woman, pulling her water out of her pouch again and pushing it against her chest. She was panicking, using all her bending to stimulate the blood inside the young woman, but it was soon apparent that it was of no use,

Katara lifted herself silently from the bedside and gestured to Jin. The older woman placed a silent and understanding hand on Katara's shoulder, but she shrugged it off and made her way to the kitchen.

She found Zuko in a back room, moving around the warm stoves full of disused tea pots with a practiced ease, and she could see that he was well on the way to having breakfast made. When Zuko looked up, she was marching through the door, her arms held stiffly by her side, and her face stony and still. He nodded at her, not attempting to disturb her silence, and set out the pile of bowls that he had been carrying onto the table, spreading them out and dividing up the large pan of rice between them. Once that was done, he topped off each of the bowls with a mixture of fried vegetables and meat, and indicated that Katara should take one, picking up a pair himself and heading out to the main room with them.

He did several trips with the communal breakfast, and when he finally sat down to consume his own breakfast, Katara was nearly finished. She sat and waited for him, however, and when he was done she picked up his bowl and began to wash it up, bending the soapy water in one of the bowls into the air and scrubbing the last of the sticky rice of the bottom of the bowls.

As she scrubbed, her head was full of that terrifying stillness. She saw the face of the young woman in her head. It lay atop the still face of Advisor Hipau, Oba who had come in with Zuko and every other person who had come through the doors of the tea shop and had lain still on their mats on the floor. She started to see that same stillness on the faces of Aang, Toph, her brother...

When she was done she sat opposite Zuko and stared at him, the slight moistening at the corners of her eyes masked by the intensity of her stare.

"When are you going back to the palace?"

* * *

><p>The question seemed to come out of nowhere. Katara had seemed troubled since she'd come in a minute ago, but Zuko would have been hard pressed to say what it was that was bothering her. This, it seemed, was it.<p>

"We can go back whenever you want to, I suppose."

"No. When are you going back?"

"With you."

"I'm not going back. Not to there."

"Why not?" Zuko was genuinely surprised. _I would have thought she's missing her brother and father. And she said she wanted to come back to the fire nation with me after the talks. _

"Because I have made more of a difference in a week here than I have for the whole of the year since the war ended."

"That's a complete lie. You've taken wonderful care of Aang, and he has grown into his role as the Avatar so much since then."

"I'm not Aang's nursemaid, I thought he appreciated all that I did for him, that it was worth something, but he's just as happy with Toph as his companion."

"You're still upset that he broke up with you." Zuko intended for it to be a question, but it came out as a statement.

"No." Katara looked up at Zuko angrily and he almost flinched from her steely glare.

_Yes you are. You feel useless because you thought your fate was to be the companion to the Avatar, but now you're no that, you feel like you're nothing._ Zuko almost said it, but he feared the proximity of the washing up water too much.

"Fine. But I'm not going back without you. Your brother will kill me. Then your father will bring me back to life and kill me again. And then another war will start because, in case you haven't noticed, we are actually quite important to the stability of the whole world."

If looks could kill, Sokka would have been spared the trouble.

"I. Am. Staying. I am going to heal every person that comes through these doors, regardless of whether they've been burned, drowned, thrown out of a window..."

"NO! You are coming back with me. This city is too dangerous!"

"I can take care of myself!"

"I don't care. I left the palace to find you and take you back to safety and by Agni that is what I am going to do!"

"You can't make me!"

"Try me." Zuko's voice was dangerously low, the anger that was always close coming to him eagerly. Katara lashed out immediately. He saw the whip of water coming towards him and held out his hand, feeling the sting of its impact across his forearm before it fizzled out into steam as it made contact with the flame that had ignited in his hand. Katara froze the remainder of the whip into fist sized lumps that crashed into the wall around him where he failed to counteract them with bursts of flame. Zuko tried to move closer, his bursts of flame getting faster and closer together, some missing her by a hairs breadth as she fought to maintain the upper hand, but he was soon right next to her, and a last burst of flame pushed her against the wall.

Zuko grabbed Katara's wrists, and the water that had been about to freeze around his feet fell back to the floor with a splash. Katara looked deep into his eyes, her anger about to boil to the surface in a hot outburst of passion, when he brought his face into contact with hers.

* * *

><p><em><strong>CLIFFHANGER! But I think we all know what's coming next (well, I do... but only because I already wrote it...) <strong>_

_**This has been a sticking chapter for me for the best part of a month, and while I am mostly happy with how it turned out, I'm still not sure... I might withhold the next chapter until someone gives me some good criticism, because I have re-written this so many times that honestly I am open to most things. Only the end and the dead woman are actually plot-centric (OOH... teaser...)**_

_**#Reviewcookies go to Sarcasm22 (Don't tell anyone, but you're my favourite reviewer), Eternal Eyes (Actually, you've reviewed a fair bit too) and PunkWolf32 (But then, yours are good quality**__**...**__**)**__**.**__** You are wonderful people, and you have all reviewed at least once before, making you even more wonderful. **_

_**Also... HELLO NEW READERS! *wave* I've had quite a lot of (ok, about 6) people adding me to their favourites/alerts and it makes me very happy :D I confess to being a bit of a lurker when it comes to the stories that I'm reading, so I understand if you don't review but then, nobody else offers cookies... jussayin.**_

_**I'm back at school which, contrary to popular trends, is likely to increase my writing output. I tend to write when I'm procrastinating about homework... Hopefully the next few updates will therefore be marginally more regular :D **_

_**ENJOY 2012 GUYS! And hopefully, we'll see Legend of Korra this year too :D**_


	11. Still Small Voices

_**Just a reminder I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters.**_

_**Any inaccuracies in terms of OC and random bits of plot changing are my entire fault. **_

**Still, Small Voices**

Katara held her head in her hands and groaned again. Zuko passed her a bowl of water and she froze it, placing the ice against her head to cool the throbbing bruise.

"I'm sorry."

"You already said that."

"But I am really sorry."

"Shut up. Go away."

"I shouldn't have lost my temper."

"You're Angry-Fire-Boy. Angry-Hard-Headed-Fire-Boy. Always have been, always will be. Now go away."

"Do you want me to get you some tea?"

"I will be fine. Don't you have to pack or something?"

"I don't have anything to pack. I'm not leaving without you."

"I don't care. Pack. Throw yourself in front of a cart. Jump off the outer wall. Anything that involves you being in a different place would be acceptable."

Zuko stood and left the room, his face drawn into a worried frown, but he was deterred by Katara's angry look and scooted out of the room with more speed.

_Angry Fire Jerk. _Katara winced as she took the block of ice away and felt the lump on her forehead gingerly. She sat in silence, using the water that was melting against her head to try and heal the bruise, but her head was hurting too much. _Figures. I can bring people back from the brink of death, but am foiled by a headache._

Her head was numb and she was almost clearheaded enough to try and heal herself again, when the door to the kitchen opened and Zuko walked back in. Katara ignored him and pooled the water around her hand, seeing the blue glow in her peripheral vision. Immediately she felt the cool relief of the absence of headache, and she couldn't help but let out a small sigh of relief.

Noticing Zuko was standing in front of her, she dropped the water back into the bowl and looked at him askance.

"What?"

"There's someone outside to see you. It's about a woman who died this morning." Katara's face paled, and her lips pulled into a thin line. She stood and made her way into the main room, where one of the nurses stood, a small child on her hip. Zuko walked up to her and stood by her side, clearly indicating this was the person who had wanted Katara.

"A man came in and gave us this child. Apparently she belongs to the woman there." Katara recognised Yura, and saw her indicated to the woman who was lying completely still on the mat next to the kitchen.

"Why did you not give her back?" Katara turned back to Yura. She put her head in her hands, feeling the headache push back to her temples.

"I tried. He acted like the girl was contagious or something." Katara put her hands over the child's forehead and used her waterbending to see if anything was amiss. The child felt perfectly healthy. _It would be just my luck to have a plague start now. But even the spirits can't possibly hate me that much._

"Well, I don't think there's anything amiss." Katara rubbed her head again and looked at the child dozing on Yura's shoulder. "I suppose we have to keep hold of her for now. Put her in the back room. At some point you have to go and try to find that man. We can't possibly keep her." Katara felt so callous, but there was a part of her that wanted to take the child into her arms. _Poor baby. You lost your mother, and now your father has abandoned you. I know exactly how you feel._ "Did she have a name?"

"Maki." The child's head lolled on Yura's shoulder as she hitched her up on her hip, and she started awake. She looked around her at the strange faces, and began to wail. Yura jogged her up and down in what was supposed to be a soothing gesture, but it only increased the intensity of the wails, and Katara was quick to dive in and retrieve the child from her holder.

Maki was heavy, but warm against Katara's bare arms. One hand securing her against her hip, the other cupped behind the child's head and rocked her against her shoulder. Tiny fists beat against Katara's back, but she continued the gentle rocking and slowly the wails subsided. No longer fighting against her captor, Maki nuzzled her face into Katara's neck and small hiccoughs caused her to jump ever so slightly in Katara's arms. Eventually that too stopped, and Katara was holding a sleeping child, enjoying the sensation with her eyes closed for a couple of seconds before looking up at her companions. Yura's mouth was turned up in a small smile, but Zuko's face looked awed. His mouth hung slightly open, and his eyes were wide and round like coins. Katara giggled at the comical expression on his face, and he seemed to come to himself, schooling his expression back into what he seemed to think was bland nonchalance, but still held an aura of surprise.

"We're not keeping her. She needs to go back to her family." And with that, Katara made her way into the back room, and carefully placed the little girl on the bed. She tucked her in tightly and smoothed a small brown lock of hair back from the girl's face, before returning to the main room.

* * *

><p>Zuko watched Katara's figure receding, Maki leaning on her shoulder contentedly. He had never understood babies. The only on he'd had any contact with was Baby Azula, and three-year-old Zuko had very little interest in a squalling infant. And then Oba...<p>

He had to admit the baby was cute though. Chubby and very pink, but still cute. She sported a small green dress with a poufy skirt, and her feet were adorned with tiny brown slippers. Slight scuff marks on the soles showed that she was starting to walk, but her legs still had all their baby fat, so she wasn't wandering around too much yet. Her tiny fingernails, almost hidden as her hands were curled into light fists, were grubby, and her face was smudged with a couple of streaks of dirt. In fact, her whole appearance was somewhat grubby, from the slight fraying at her hem to the matt of brown hair that was tangled behind her head.

When Katara returned, she had a soft and faraway expression on her face that disappeared as soon as she caught Zuko's eye. But he'd seen it, and he knew that if the time came to give Maki back, Katara would be loath to part with her.

* * *

><p>"Are you packed yet?" Katara was determined not to drop this.<p>

"No. I told you, I'm not going."

"You'd better leave soon, or I'll have to practice my bloodbending on you."

"I thought you could only do that at the full... ohshit." Katara saw the realisation dawn on Zuko's face.

"Not so sure you don't want to leave now, are you?" Katara felt smug, and she folded her arms against her stomach.

"Look, can't we come to an agreement about this... You can come back!"

"What, and let other people die while I'm gone?" Katara was becoming impatient.

"No... Well... I don't... Just let me take you back!" Katara heard his words, but through her mind the words 'me take you' were whirring, and soon all the things that had been running through her head were spilling out of her mouth.

* * *

><p>"I don't want to be everyone's second any more. I can't stand being the second person to be asked; the other half of someone. I am my own person. Let's face it, you wouldn't have looked at me twice if I hadn't been travelling with the Avatar. I feel like he defines who I am, which is stupid. I am kept on as an advisor because I travelled with the Avatar; I am invited to noble's dinner parties because they don't want to risk offending Aang. He's barely thirteen, and yet my word means nothing against his. I voice my opinion and everyone looks at him like he has to agree before anything I say is valid and if he doesn't they just go away and mutter about how I'm just a silly girl."<p>

Some of the nurses and more lucid patients were staring Katara, and Zuko tried to calm her down.

"I've always listened to you. Why don't you see that?"

"I do. But it's just not enough. If I go into a council chamber with you it'll be exactly the same. You only need to disagree with me once and suddenly everything I've said is discounted as the ramblings of a little girl who doesn't understand how the world works."

"Well then I won't disagree with you."

"That's not my point. I might be wrong, and then I need someone who isn't biased against me because it's me to set me straight."

"Yeah, but that would never happen."

"Because you never disagree with anything that I say." Her voice was laced with sarcasm.

"Fine, you want me to fight?" Zuko advanced forwards, heedless of the stares of all those around them as he found himself raising his voice. "Why don't you let me help you? I have stuck my neck out at council meetings to let you be heard. I invited you into the anniversary meeting, and asked your opinion there. I made them listen to you."

"But that got turned into a joke over a lover's spat. It was too closely linked with me and Aang breaking up, and now nobody sees that I was speaking from experience and evidence, not than out of spite."

"I jumped in front of lightning for you. I ran out into a riot to make sure you were alright after you were accused of murder. I have injured myself and nearly been killed to try and help you, and you are never grateful for any of it. We've seen each other, what? Four times since the Comet, and every time I've ended up being hurt trying to help you."

"Maybe you should get the hint and stop trying. And what other times have you been hurt?"

_Dammit. Shouldn't have let that slip_. "You always water whip me when you think I'm trying to protect you, that I'm treating you as weak. Even when any normal person would have asked for some help. Take this morning as an example." He rubbed his head emphatically, indicating that Katara was not the only one with a bruise after he'd knocked her out.

"I only do that because you're an idiot. I do the same to Sokka. And anyway, that was your fault!"

"And the lightning thing. Do I deserve any credit for that? You finished healing me, and then disappeared off into the world to be with Aang, and I don't even get a bunch of flowers to look at as I try to put a nation back together."

"Sure you get some credit. Oh, wait. You got _all_ the credit. You ended up the self-sacrificing hero and within a month everyone had forgotten that I was the one who took down Azula."

"I thought you weren't proud of that."

"I'm not, but only because she lost her mind. Two powerful firebenders were laid low that day, and I managed one of them. I feel like that should put me on a par with Aang. You and I both know that wasn't any less of a fight than the one that Aang had with Ozai!"

"Well..."

"NO! My victory was JUST as important as Aang's!"

"But if I had to pick a family member to fight..."

"YOUR TALKING IS NOT HELPING!"

"YOUR SHOUTING IS NOT HELPING!"

"YOUR EXISTING IS NOT HELPING!"

Zuko was beyond caring about everyone around him at this point. Yura put a hand on Katara's shoulder but was shrugged off by a wild gesticulation that nearly caught Yura in the face. She backed away quickly and went to a nearby bedside, but her focus was clearly not on the young man recieving her administrations.

"WHY? Because I try to help? Because I occasionally treat you like a girl? Guess what, you are one! This isn't just going to go away."

"You're as bad a Sokka!"

"NO! That's not what I meant." Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose and stepped back a little in an attempt to collect his thoughts. "I mean you have to work at being listened to. You have to work at being taken seriously because of you as a person, rather than just because you're a girl. You'll need to prove these people wrong hundreds of times before they even consider that you have anything valid to add. If I wasn't Fire Lord, they wouldn't have taken me seriously. We'd still be at war. Nothing would have changed."

Katara frowned at him and stepped forwards, closing the space between them again. "But you _are_ the Fire Lord. I don't have any political power. They can ignore me and not risk anyone going to war with anyone else because of it."

"What? What about your father and brother? Southern Water Tribe Chief..."

"Means nothing." Katara interrupted. "Master Pakku is the only bender. We couldn't declare war on a baby Moose-Lion. It's only been a year. Most of those left are crippled by the war, or too young or too old to fight. The Northern Water Tribe is hardly any better. I hadn't realised just how much damage the Siege of the North had done to them, but they wouldn't withstand anything more than a token display of force. It'll be generations before water is an element to be reckoned with again."

Zuko sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, stepping backwards again. He realised that he was being backed slowly towards the door of the shop, so he stopped himself halfway through another step and stood firm.

"I don't know what I can say other that I will back you up when you speak. That's me as Fire Lord, with the whole Fire Nation behind me. I know you feel like you're doing good here, and you are!" Zuko added quickly, seeing Katara's hackles rise again. "But think of all those others out there in the city who need help. Will every district have somewhere like here, where people can go for help? Where are the medics and supplies that should be coming from the Upper Ring? Who there will be thinking of the people here as they try to convince themselves that they are the worst hit?

"You should be the one asking these questions in front of people who can do something about it. You usually are. You and Aang were good together because you were always thinking of others, always able to be compassionate. But now Aang is in the Western Air Temple and you are here, so these people have nobody. You have the power to help hundreds of people, not tens."

Katara had stepped backwards while Zuko spoke, and hung her head for a while. Zuko closed the gap between them and stood right in front of her. His arms were held up and hovered inches from her elbows. She looked up, and her nose almost grazed his chin. She stepped back out of reflex, and Zuko's hands fell to his sides.

"But I'm still wanted for murder. I've tried not to think about it, but when I go back they'll arrest me again." Zuko rubbed his face and looked at the palms of his hands, as though they might suddenly hold some answers.

"I know." He was still looking down when he finally answered her. "I'll talk to them. I won't lose my temper this time." Katara gave a snort, and his hands clenched into fists. He took a deep breath, reminding himself that he was trying to prove that he wasn't going to get angry. "I can do it. I'm much better at not losing my temper now."

Zuko looked up to see and odd expression on Katara's face that he couldn't quite place. They held each other's gazes like that for a long moment, before Katara's face began to change. She became harder, more resolute. Her shoulders straightened, and she stood taller, her arms going rigid by her side.

"I want to do it Zuko. I want to make things better; I want to make a difference."

* * *

><p><em><strong>SORRY IN ADVANCE ABOUT THE LONG AUTHOR NOTE!<strong>_

_**First of all... HA! (I am a reader sadist. I make no claim to be otherwise.**__**)**_

_**This was one of those chapters that just kinda happened. Typical: I agonise over the fight between Katara and Zuko for a month, and roughly 3 hours after posting my vaguely finished result, they start arguing in my head. In the middle of a Chemistry lesson. I was not amused. Happily, my chemistry teacher was being particularly immune to the actual activities of the class, so I just wrote down what they said on the back of a worksheet... which I have a sneaking suspicion I have to hand in... oops. **_

_**Typed up and tweaked a little, this is the result. It ran away with me. **__**They**__** ran away **__**from**__** me. It's embarrassing when your characters do stuff without telling you first. Anyway, it was the closest I thought I'd ever come to getting some good in-character stuff out of them, so I didn't question. **_

_**I just read that last bit and realised I sound like a freak. Ah well.**_

_**If you don't care about/don't want to know about the thinking behind my story or the reply to the review from Tophhh, just skip to the next bit in bold**_

_TOPHHH – I wanted to reply to your review properly, but you aren't a member/didn't leave a manner in which I could reply personally, so I'll stick it here. _

_I agree. It is dark and violent. And I agree that it's a shame. But I have read a lot of stories that are dark, and enjoyed them so I didn't think it'd be too much of a thing. Similarly I've read much lighter ones and enjoyed them, but I've still gone for dark. I do have my reasons though:_

_1) You don't just get over 100 years of war..._

_2) I needed a good amount of time to have passed between the Comet and now, because the stories where there's Zutara-Lemony-Goodness (which will come, honest) and Katara is only 14 is kinda weird... I'm going with Katara is 16 now, with a birthday shortly after the comet... or I could have her birthday now... hmmm..._

_3) As such, in order to have interesting character development I needed new things. Stuff that was dealt with in the series is now a year old, and it's hard to hold a grudge that long. If you think about it, the pasts of all the interesting characters are very dark and fairly violent. You just don't see them. And these pasts (Katara's Mother, Zuko's Scar, Aang loosing Gyatso, Iroh loosing Lu Ten etc) make interesting character development in the show. The darkness and violence is alluded to, but it's essentially a kid's show so they hid it away. _

_4) As such, I have had some pretty dark things happen. These are mostly over now. Now we get the growth and the character development because of them. Zuko's still repressing the Oba thing, Katara has some issues that were brought to the surface by the tragedy, and there's still the mysterious murderer out there somewhere..._

_5) They also make good contrast. Some of the best stories I have read were so incredibly painful to read at times, and then the good bits were that much more wonderful. That's kinda where I'm going with this (hopefully). All my favourite books made me cry. I haven't really gone for the crying kind of pain, but I have made it dark in the hope that when (if) I make you laugh it's uplifting in a more wonderful way._

_I hope you carry on reading and tell me if I meet any of my goals. If not, I understand. You get a #ReviewCookie anyway for caring enough about my writing to tell me about it :D_

_**SYRIE – I'm going back to many of my older chapters after my exams (exam revision... I should do that, huh) and tweaking them to eliminate some NaNo madness. Thanks for that particular one though, as I wanted to make the flashback subtle, but not so subtle that people get confused...**_

_**OTHER PEOPLE REVIEWED TOO! #ReviewCookies go to trumpetgurl92 (hehe), Shiningheart of ThunderClan (good name), Syrie (twice, so two cookies), Fallon (Thanks for not lurking), Sarcasm22 and ErraticRaven (HA! Knew I'd catch someone out... and I got THREE of you... mwahaha). **_

_**I enjoyed replying to my bad review, so feel free to leave some more. I will also answer questions if anyone has them (but I reserve the right to withhold spoilers). Other than that, HELLO LURKERS! There is still a small selection of #ReviewCookies remaining: get them while they're lukewarm :D**_


	12. Baby Faces

_**Just a reminder I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters.**_

_**Any inaccuracies in terms of OC and random bits of plot changing are my entire fault. **_

**Baby Faces**

Maki clapped her hands with glee once again as Zuko's face emerged from behind the blanket. It was a well-known fact that a face appearing from behind closed hands was the most entertaining thing in the world, but it seemed that Zuko's antics were doing just as well. He lifted the blanket to cover his face again, and whipped it downwards, expelling a small "Boo!" as he did so, and Maki shrieked with glee again. She lifted her hands towards his face and grabbed the top of the blanket that he was holding in her tiny hands. Lifting herself, she stood precariously on the soft mat, and used one hand to reach up and grab Zuko's nose. He blinked in surprise, but it seemed that letting go of her support with one hand was just too much, and she fell back down to the ground with a bump.

Zuko leaned forward and gathered the toddler up in his arms, concern etched on his face. Maki gave a yelp of surprise at the sudden lift into Zuko's chest, and she beat against him and squirmed in an effort to be let go. Zuko looked at her for a moment longer, checking for any lasting damage, and finally put her down on the mat again.

Maki crawled around on the mat, and started to sing quietly to herself as she folded the blanket into shapes. Zuko watched her contentedly playing in the enclosure made by his legs, and he couldn't help but remember.

_"Why is 'Zula getting all the new things? I'm bigger than her!"_

_"Because everyone is excited about a new princess."_

_"But what about me? I'm a prince. I will be a great general when I'm big. 'Zula's just a silly girl." His mother mussed up his hair with her fingers, a small smile gracing her lips, and went back to folding the clothes that were piled in the little nursery. He lifted himself off the bed and went over to the cot in the corner of the room to assess his sister._

_She had her eyes screwed up, almost as though she was in pain, but he didn't need to see her to know that her eyes matched his. Her hair was black like his, but short and messy. She had small fingers, and Zuko reached over the bars to put his finger in her hand. She curled her fist over his fingertip reflexively, and he smiled slightly at her tight grip._

Maki put her hands out towards him and grabbed his hands, which had been lying on his knees. Zuko smiled down at her and lifted his hands in the air above her head, lifting her to her feet again. She giggled with triumph, and lifted one foot off the floor. She wobbled for the half a second that it took to put it down again, and Zuko held her fingers tight as she waddled forward a few steps. He smiled down at her, and speedily moved his hands to hold her around the ribs and lift her into the air above him. She shrieked in excitement and waved her hands in the air. Zuko smiled again, and rolled backwards to lie on his back and swing her around above his head.

Katara had gone into town with Yura in an attempt to find the man who had dropped Maki off. Katara was sure that he could be persuaded to come back and take his child back, but there was a part of Zuko that suspected he wasn't the father, and as such would feel no obligation. He wasn't sure why that was important to him, but he kept the thought to himself and let the two women out into the city. He also bit back his friendly _Good Luck_ in an effort to maintain the uneasy peace that they had drawn up between them. He knew that Katara could take care of herself, but instinct urged him to protect her. Even if she was going to water whip him into oblivion.

He put Maki down again, and she crawled into a corner of the room, where Zuko had stashed his fancier robes. They were worn and threadbare, and hardly resembled the finely tailored cotton that he had been wearing as he dashed out of the palace, but he had discarded them in favour of some duller brown clothes that stopped him standing out. Nobody had made a fuss over him being Fire Lord yet, but he had a suspicion that Jin hadn't told anyone. He had been to the shop in the Upper Ring fairly regularly upon visiting his Uncle, but this second shop in the Middle Ring he had never visited, although Jin had had met before. He wasn't sure what Katara had done about her identity, but they'd both received some funny looks when he'd first called her by her name. He hoped he hadn't landed her in any more trouble.

His train of thought was disturbed by the sound of a crash from where Maki was playing. Zuko's head whipped up and he caught sight of Maki grabbing at the broken pieces of a teapot that had fallen off the low table. He saw the tablecloth crumpled in a heap around her as the cause of the crash, and quickly scooped up the young girl. He removed the sharp pieces of china from her hands, and held her so that she was looking him in the eye.

"Don't do that Maki. Katara will kill me if you get yourself hurt. Do you have any cuts on you?" She didn't respond, except by cringing slightly at the harshness of Zuko's tone. Her lower lip started to wobble as he continued to look at her sternly, but his face immediately softened as she started to cry.

"Shh! Shh! Don't worry, I'm not angry. Shh." He pulled Maki towards him and held her, rocking her from side to side as he had seen Katara do before. She only wailed louder, and Zuko hushed her more fervently, looking towards the door worriedly. _If Katara comes back and someone tells her that I made Maki cry, she'll be mad. Really Mad. Bloodbending Mad._

"Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Winter, Spring, Sumer and Fall." Zuko began to croon the familiar song to Maki, and her cries began to lessen.

_"Four Seasons; Four Loves. Four Seasons; Four Loves." Zuko listened to his mother finishing the lullaby and the light rustle that was her getting up to kiss her daughter on the forehead before creeping out of the door. When she turned to see Zuko outside the door, she smiled at him fondly._

_"Is 'Zula going to die?"_

_"No Zuko, she just has a cold. You know how being ill makes you grumpy and tired. She is only crying because she is grumpy."_

_"I... I don't really want her to die." Zuko looked town at his fingers, embarrassed at the admission. He had been doing his best to resent his little sister for taking up so much of his mother's time, but he had begun to soften slightly. _

_"Neither should you. Now, it's time for you to go to bed too." Zuko pouted, but followed his mother into his bedroom and allowed her to lift him up onto his much-too-big bed._

_"Mama. When is Father coming home? Doesn't he want to see 'Zula?"_

_"He'll come home as soon as he can. And he does want to see Azula." Zuko saw his mother's face flicker for a moment. "And you. He just has to wait for your grandfather to call him back from the Earth Kingdom. It shouldn't be too long now." His mother frowned slightly, but by the time she had pulled his sleeping shirt over his head, the frown was gone and replaced by a loving smile._

_"Do I get a lullaby to?" he asked sheepishly. Zuko was wrapped up in bed, his mother tucking the sheets in around him._

_"Of course you do." She stroked the top of his head, and he closed his eyes, content._

_"Leaves from the vine, falling so slow..."_

* * *

><p>"No! Maki! Come here!" Maki darted under another of the tables that had recently been cleared of patients and a disgruntled Zuko tried to catch her by the ankle. She was too quick for him, and in his haste to stand he cracked his head on the underside of the table and let out a stream of expletives.<p>

"Bug'r!" Maki giggled at her command of this new word and righted herself from her crawling position to sit in the middle of the floor.

"No! Don't say that!" Zuko pulled her up into his arms, part of him elated at having caught her, and the other terrified of the fact that she was repeating the word "Bug'r" over and over.

_"Zuzu! Play with me now!"_

_"'Azula, I'm practicing." Zuko was out in the garden, concentrating on the smouldering leaf between his fingers. Or rather, he was trying to concentrate. Azula had recently acquired the use of firebending, and was keen to show off her new skills to everyone, including Zuko, who she had already demonstrated this to multiple times, much to his annoyance._

_"Zuzuzuzuzuzuzuzuzuzu!" Her chanting cries got closer and louder and eventually Zuko's frustration won through and the leaf flared between his fingers and was consumed. He dropped it with a yelp, and sucking the ends of his fingers where the fire had briefly touched him, he glared at Azula, who simply gave a titter at her brother's discomfort. _

_"Finished. Now you have to play with me." She tugged on his robes and he eventually relented and gave her a small smile. _

_"What are we playing 'Zula?"_

_"Fire Princess and Water Prince."_

_"How do you play that?"_

_"I am the Princess, and I have taken the evil water prince to my prison. Then he tries to escape and I burn him to death."_

_"Sounds... great, Azula."_

He somehow got Maki to sit on his knee for a few minutes for him to spoon some food into her mouth. He tried to ignore the amused looks he was getting from the nurses and patients and focused instead on scooping up the mush that was escaping in rivulets down Maki's chin. The number of patients had greatly decreased since yesterday, and those that were left were mostly recovered. Zuko was still astonished at Katara's healing ability, and while she had been at her best over the last few days as the moon was at its fullest, he couldn't help but be awed by her strength and perseverance.

Maki was done eating, and grabbed the spoon that Zuko had been using and began to chew on it. Yura had reliably informed him earlier that the flushed cheeks and need to chew on everything was due to her teething, but once again Zuko felt lost. He thought of Katara, and how effortlessly she had fallen into the role of mother to Maki. Maybe it was a girl thing. Maybe they're born with it.

He looked down at Maki and tried to imagine her when she was grown up, children of her own sitting at her knee. He found it hard enough to imagine it himself. In his head, he tried to visualise her face. No more puppy-fat and with a full set of teeth. But all he could see was Oba, whose hazel brown eyes were exactly the same shade. Oba had all her teeth. She was much better at talking, though she was a quiet child. She would have grown up to be like her mother, in all likelihood. Tall and beautiful and full of smiles.

Zuko saw again the moment when she had escaped her arms. He dreamed about it at night, the terrifying paralysis settling over him until he could only watch. He gripped Maki tighter to himself as he thought about it, but after a moment she protested, and demanded to be set down on the floor again. She made herself comfortable, surrounded by spoons and wooden cups scrounged from the kitchen for her entertainment. She was singing again, and Zuko couldn't help but grin when he recognised a small part of the tune to 'Four seasons'.

The evening started to draw closer, and Zuko looked increasingly towards the window that faced onto the main street. Katara was late. It wasn't like her to be late. A tiny nagging worry lodged itself in the back of his brain, and floundered in the pit of his stomach. He was sure she was fine. She had to be fine. He knew that if he went out to look for her and there was nothing the matter that he would find himself in severe pain again. Much as he wanted to defend her honour, he would never allow her to find out that he did so. He wasn't even sure why he did, but he'd done it before.

He remembered the celebration in Omashu after the rebuilding was finished there. He had found her in a room all alone with a group of Northern Water Tribe boys who had come for the party, and afterwards would be travelling to the Southern Water Tribe to join some families who were moving there. She was busy educating them about Foggy Swamp style using a useful fountain, and they were sneering at her where she couldn't see. Zuko had stayed to watch for a few minutes, glad to escape the demands of the world's elite on a new ruler, and out of genuine interest. He had watched her for about ten minutes before she was called away by Aang who wanted to show her something to do with the mail system, and she hadn't seen him in the corner of the room where he was hidden. As soon as she had gone, the boys had started talking.

_"I wouldn't take her. She is too feisty. I like my women nice and pliable." The scrawniest of the trio had short, brown hair that fell messily around his face._

_"I would enjoy taming her. She'd be a challenge." A second boy, this one with an expensive looking dagger at his hip, but Zuko's battle-trained eyes could see that it would be nest to useless in actual combat. He looked at the third boy expectantly. The third was larger and better built than the others with long hair gathered behind his head in what Zuko imagined he would call a Warrior's Tail, but he just called a ponytail._

_"It's just a shame she's spent so long travelling the world with young boys. We will never be sure of her purity." He guffawed with his comrades and they made suggestive hand gestures to each other and guffawed again At that, a part of Zuko snapped, and he couldn't bear to stand by idly._

_"You know nothing of Katara." Zuko stepped out of the shadows and advanced towards the boys. "Why should she be docile for you? And she might have travelled the world with a group of young boys, but one of those was her brother, and the other was the Avatar, a twelve year old monk."_

_"And you travelled with her too, Fire Lord." The way the boy said his title was filled with scorn. "I know you type, the allure of the forbidden. It must have been stressful in the days leading up to the invasion. I wouldn't be surprised if you'd let yourself relax with a nice warm somebody. And Katara is so willing to help people who are in need..."_

_Zuko lashed out a fist, careful not to coat it with flame even in his rage, and it connected solidly with the boy's nose. His two friends retaliated by swinging their arms and legs towards Zuko's torso. He wasn't quite quick enough to escape both attacks, and one forced its way under his ribs, leaving him winded. The second boy pulled out his dagger, and Zuko had just enough energy to smack it out of his hands. It clattered against the floor, and the hilt separated from the blade, and they went their separate ways across the floor. Its owner was enraged, and looked ad Zuko with hate filling his eyes. Zuko was saved any further retaliation, however, by the sound of a giggle in the corridor outside. It wasn't long before Sokka and Suki came into the room, their hands around each other's waists and their faces so close they were breathing the same air. They stopped in the doorway and looked at the three boys standing in front of Zuko, and gave similar questioning looks. Zuko looked back to his opponents, and they all simply shrugged, the look somewhat spoiled by the blood running out of the leader's face. They all three backed out of the room, leaving Zuko standing, resisting the urge to curl up in a corner and simply breathe for a few minutes._

_"What was all that about?"_

_Zuko simply shrugged, not trusting himself to speak through the pain in his abdomen, and made what he hoped was a dignified exit in the opposite direction to the Northern Water Tribe boys. _

"I wouldn't go to the Water Tribes if I was you." Zuko watched Maki pile the cups on top of each other with much concentration. "They are rather barbaric, but never tell Katara I said so. She was lucky to get out of it. The Earth Kingdom is more your style. If you're an Earthbender you might meet Toph, and then you'll really know what a strong woman is._"_ Zuko thought for a moment about the swiftly growing Earthbender who he had come to like and respect. Particularly respect. She had only been to the Fire Palace once, and she had nearly overthrown his government just by listening in to one council meeting and causing the ground to shake every time someone lied. Zuko found it fairly entertaining, particularly when the whole council decided it was the wrath of Agni, but Zuko had to forbid her from listening in on future councils, despite how much she wanted to help.

Katara hadn't been back to the Fire Nation since the Comet. She would like what he had changed, he hoped. Zuko had opened up all the disused sections of the palace and allowed the more senior servants better rooms. He had started a school for residents of the city just outside the basin of the volcano. He wanted to set up a university, like the one in Ba Sing Se, and open it to all the different nations to bring stories and knowledge. All he needed was for his council and generals to pay attention to him when he said they didn't need to pour money into the army any more on account of no longer being at war. Oh, and there was the shortage of food, the on-going conversation about when he would be getting married and, of course, the fact that he couldn't expect anything from anyone else as The Fire Nation owed nearly everyone money or goods or both. Stupid treaties. He wondered if the Earth King was having this kind of trouble.

Maki let out a wail as the tower of cups she had been building fell to the ground with a clatter. Zuko was started out of his reverie, and went to assist the young girl in picking up all the cups. Sitting opposite her, he began his own cup construction, and soon there was a three tiered pyramid sitting in front of him. In his hand he held one final cup, which he tried to balance on the top of the pyramid. _It's so awkward when you have just one cup that won't go in your tower_. His slow and careful efforts to finish his tower were almost successful, when a brief swipe to the bottom tier from Maki sent the whole thing flying. Zuko froze exactly where he was, cup in hand, poised to complete his creation.

_And then when you try to make it fit, the rest of it falls out beneath you._

* * *

><p>Maki was sound asleep on the bed in the back room again. Zuko had tucked her in not long ago, though most of the nurses were long gone. The number of patients had dwindled significantly over the course of the day, and finally Jin insisted that she could take care of the three remaining with Zuko and that the others should go home. They were expecting Katara and Yura back any minute, and so Zuko assisted her in putting the tea shop back to its former state. The two of them had started by sweeping up all the rubble that had accumulated of the floor. While the shop had gone relatively unscathed in the riots, the earthquake had not left them alone and there were many places where huge chunks of plaster had fallen off the walls, and outside the front of the shop, the low wall that separated it from the street had all but disappeared. Zuko had hauled away the worst of the rubble while Jin swept the dust and bits of plaster that had been walked all around the shop for the last week into neat piles, which she would then let Zuko gather up and take out onto the street.<p>

All along the street, there were similar piles outside people's houses. The middle ring, having the benefit of much better earthbending and architecture, hadn't suffered nearly as badly as the lower ring, where Ina's was not the only house to completely collapse. The streets were mostly empty, and Zuko placed the last of the debris on the teas shop's own pile carefully, taking his time to peer in both directions down the dark street. He heard Jin calling to him, and so he went inside, closing the door firmly behind him against the night chill that was filling the air.

Inside, Jin had begun to rearrange the tables, and all but the three mats which still held patients were cleared away. Zuko grabbed the other end of the table that Jin was moving, and it was only a matter of minutes before the shop almost looked like somewhere that would serve tea again. The two cleaners put down the last of the chairs around the tables, and fell into them with a sigh.

"Did Kya tell you when she would be back?"

"Ky... Oh... No. But I assumed she'd be back before dark." The pair peered out of the window at the pitch darkness, and turned back to observe each other. Zuko was a little perturbed at being so closely examined, all traces of the deference that she had offered him at first gone from her expression.

"What are your intentions towards Kya?"

"Huh?" Zuko was somewhat blindsided by the question. It seemed to come out of nowhere.

"You argued pretty passionately for her safety yesterday. You seem to understand her motivations fairly well. You managed to convince her to get some sleep, so she must trust you. You don't call her Kya - which frankly is stupid because she clearly gave a different name for a reason. So tell me, what are your intentions?"

Zuko thought about it for a moment. He had to admit; Katara had been on his mind for most of the last few weeks, but mostly because he had been worried about her moping after the Avatar had disappeared with Toph. He hadn't realised the extent of the hurt until she had started yelling at him yesterday, but he could see now that she was hurt by the way she was viewed by the world. _Too much time in the Water Tribes has he thinking like a Girl._ Well, that was a thought that made no sense. But her big blue eyes filled with unshed tears when she mentioned the people she hadn't saved. He knew that feeling. And she still touched her necklace whenever she looked down at Maki. She would get that serious expression on her face when she was doing something particularly tricky with her healing, and absentmindedly twist her hair up behind her head in what he could only describe was a magical way.

_When did I start noticing this much about Katara? I haven't even noticed these things about Mai._

"Mai." He said it softly to himself, but Jin picked up on it.

"Yes. Mai. Your girlfriend. I was wondering when she would cross your mind." Zuko was staring at his hands and didn't see the sideways look that Jin gave him. "Iroh talks about you all the time, you know. He is incredibly proud of you. You always learn from your mistakes. You don't get carried away with your emotions like you used to. I know it's hard, but you have to think about what is best for the whole world here. I don't think that you and Katara will make it."

Zuko was brought up to full attention by that comment.

"Who said anything about a 'me and Katara'?"

"Your face did, just now when you were thinking about her. It's fine if you decide that Mai isn't the one for you - Don't give me that look!" Zuko stared at her like she had committed treason. "You've only mentioned her name once, and even I can see that there is no love lost there. Or is there?"

Zuko made a mental note to keep track of exactly his Uncle was encouraging to meddle in his personal life.

"I... care for her deeply. I don't wish to see her hurt. I respect her intelligence and her skill, and all the ways in which she supports me when I want her."

"But you don't feel for her. She doesn't stir anything in you."

Zuko though for a long time.

_No._

"But I have to marry, for the good of the Fire Nation. I am constantly being told about the importance of Heirs and the future, how stability within my family is important to maintain the stability of the whole nation. I can't afford to not be with her."

"Then there can't be any Katara."

"No. There can't."

* * *

><p><em><strong>It's definitely something about Chemistry Lessons... OVER 4000 WORDS GUYS! (4370 without AN)**_

_**This chapter was rather heavily based on Zuko Alone... in case you couldn't tell. It was originally supposed to be a Fluffy-cute Chapter, but then Zuko got all broody, and Jin started quizzing him... Disobedient Characters... PAH! **_

_**I decided to give up in my quest to write with Katara's voice and do a proper Zuko character-study-type-thing... and I just re-read Eclipse and spent half the time going SOOOO CUUUUTE... well, when I wasn't BAWLING over the fact that I know how it ends... *sniff***_

_**Also... I KNOW HOW IT ENDS! (This is my story we're talking about now) You have no idea how RARE this is for me... I usually just go with the flow, but now I have a GOAL! And in case anyone's wondering, 'That Kiss' will be about halfway through, so you now know that this story will aim to be at least 30 chapters (although, more like 40 at the current rate...)**_

_**FALLON – Your review made me do a little happy dance because it was so lovely. It was also my 30**__**th**__** review, making me feel special. I'm glad they're not too OOC for you. Thank you, and have a #ReviewCookie (I've not seen anyone so excited about getting a virtual cookie... well... ever...)**_

_**Shiningheart of ThunderClan – Your review made me laugh. And happy dance. And I still smile even now when I read it. #ReviewCookie for youuuuu.**_

_**(The above responses may be due to me reading and responding to the reviews as they arrived... at 5am and 5:34am respectively...)**_

_**Other #ReviewCookies go to PunkWolf32 (sorry I'm too speedy for you), ErraticRaven (I slightly stole that line, but it was too awesome not to use), Sarcasm22 (I am muchly excited about Maki because of my newfound ending), snarkhunter (all the best people diffuse sexual tension with headbutting) and whaleshavewings (YAY for emergence of lurker. And I don't feel very original, but I am trying, so thanks :D)**_

_**Also, Just so you all know, because I'm British, when I say Cookie I mean a BRITISH cookie... not a biscuit... A cookie the size of a saucer with chocolate chips and marshmallows and still warm and slightly soggy from the oven... *drool* **_

_**Note to Self – Cut down on Author Note**_


	13. The Past Catches up

_**Just a reminder I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters.**_

**The Past Catches Up**

Katara looked up at the moon that peered through the clouds, and gave a final sigh. She and Yura had been tramping through the city for hours, and now as the moon showed its face to her she finally gave up her search and began the long journey back to the Jasmine Dragon.

Katara had at first been astonished at the destruction left behind by the earthquake and riots. Houses burned to the ground stood shoulder to shoulder with those that had been shaken from their foundations. Some had people rummaging through the wreckage, looking for lost belongings, and occasionally the furtive expressions would lead Katara to suspect that it was not their own belongings they were looking for.

They started in the lower ring nearest the gate to the Middle Ring, as Yura had a faint memory of the people bringing Maki's mother in saying that was where they had found her. Katara felt a little useless in the search, having not seen the man's face as he dropped of the young girl, but she persevered through the streets. Here in the lower ring, the destruction was severe, with some streets almost completely flattened by the various disasters that had struck the struggling city in the last two weeks. Here and there, brightly coloured banners were still strung between lonely posts, the last remnants of the festival taunting the inhabitants of the ruined city with their gaiety.

As the two women walked together up the road to the gates, Katara was reminded of the press of people she had seen here last time she tried to make her way up the road. Walls of buildings on both sides of the street were leaning outwards or fallen down, the press of bodies having caused serious structural damage. They had seen this as they came down, but it was only as they followed the direction of the force that had pushed against the gates that the full impact hit them. The gates were completely fallen, and the light traffic that now made its way through picked its way over the huge slabs of stone that were lying in the street. Katara had seen the wall and the solid face of stone that was the closed gates, and wondered at the enormous pressure and force of will that could have caused such and imposing barrier to fail. Ba Sing Se may be impenetrable from the outside world, but it was still vulnerable to its inhabitants when they were risen up together.

It was as they passed through the walls that Katara overheard a frantic conversation between a young woman and an older man.

"...a young man with a scarred face, with a young girl? Or a young girl on her own?"

"Try the Jasmine Dragon. A friend of mine was treated there, and a young girl was taken there yesterday. It's just been closed down as a hospital, but they would be a good place to start for missing persons."

"Thank you!" The woman shook the man's hand vigorously. "Could you show me the way?"

"I'm on my way there now." Katara called over to the conversing pair. The man nodded to her and continued on his way as the woman walked over to Katara with a hopeful expression on her face. Katara saw the lines of worry making her forehead, and the bags under her eyes.

"Ha... Have you seen my daughter? She was with a young man with a scarred face."

"I... Don't think I've seen your daughter." Katara looked at the young woman with a sinking feeling in her stomach. "I have seen the young man with a scarred face, and I know he would like to see you." _Zuko, I think this is your story to tell._

"That would be... wonderful." Katara saw the woman's face slip and Katara placed a hand on her arm.

"It'll be alright." The woman looked back into Katara's eyes and gave a weak smile. From under the woman's arm popped a small head. Katara smiled down at the small face, and he ducked back beneath his mother's arm, smiling gleefully at the attention.

The four made their way quickly back to the tea shop. The small boy tugged against his mother's arm, pulling her backwards as he tried to pick his way over the piles of rubble, holding her hand. She pulled him forwards with a frown on her face, which he soon mirrored, refused his fun.

* * *

><p>The tea shop when they arrived back felt empty. Katara led the group up the stairs, straining to hear the low voices that came from inside. She opened the door to see Zuko and Jin sitting together at a table. For the first time, the tea shop actually looked like a tea shop, and the transformation was remarkable. If it wasn't for the few mats still at the back, it would have been hard to imagine that the shop was ever used as a hospital at all. Zuko looked up when she entered a troubled look in his eye. Katara wondered for a moment if he knew who she had brought with her, and she couldn't help but look guilty as their eyes met across the room. Katara could only hold his gaze for a moment or two before she looked away.<p>

Jin had stood when Katara entered, and was now advancing towards her. Katara felt suddenly very small and conscious of how young she was.

"We didn't find her father." Said Katara in answer to Jin's questioning look. Katara heard the rest of the group some in behind her, but her eyes stayed looking at Jin's face as Jin's eyes flicked over Katara's shoulder.

"Is this a relative?" Katara shook her head slightly.

"No. But she was looking for Zuko. I think."

"L... Lee?" Katara heard the hope in the woman's voice, and closed her eyes.

"Ina." Zuko's voice was rough, and cracked slightly on the name. "Teru."

"Where...?" Katara could almost hear the way that Zuko's eyes must have flicked downwards, the tiny signal that told the woman everything she didn't want to hear. Her eyes screwed up against the sob that exploded from the woman. There was an agonised moment while the world seemed to go still except for the breath that Ina was fighting into her body before she wailed. Katara felt her eyes fill with tears as she remembered the tiny body that had come in with Zuko. The covered form that had gone out of the city and into the farmland just outside. Another unnamed body, another unmarked grave.

Katara's eyes opened in an attempt to banish the memories, but the first thing she saw was Zuko's face. His eyes were looking down to the floor and his lips were drawn into a thin line. He held his fists rigid by his side, and the whites of his knuckles contrasted against the deep green of his clothes. The pain he was feeling was written across his forehead, and she found herself mirroring his pose in an attempt to keep hold of his emotions.

Later she wondered if the evening was a nightmare. When she remembered it, she remembered moments, seemingly disconnected in time, and all she seemed able to feel was grief.

Jin taking Teru to one side and talking to him in a low voice while his mother clutched at thin air.

Zuko on the floor, his knees pulled up into his stomach, repeating the word 'sorry over and over until his voice was hoarse.

The three of them together, silent tears falling down all their faces as they shared their grief.

Zuko waking into the back room, and the scream of pain that came from him as, for the first time, he allowed himself to feel.

The tea that they all drank, the silence filled with tension.

Katara with her arms over Zuko's shoulders as he sat in silence. The others had all gone to sleep, finally worn out by their grief. Katara felt so useless. There was nothing she could do here. No way for him to feel better. All she could do was wait, and hold him as he stared into nothing and tears fell softly down his face. She lifted her hand and used her thumb to wipe a tear that was clinging to the bottom of his cheek. He leaned slightly into her hand, and she stayed perfectly still, willing to give comfort however she could. After a while he turned to look at her and gave a weak smile. Katara returned in kind, and before long they were asleep, their heads each leaning on the wall and their fingers entwined.

* * *

><p>The morning was cold. Once again, autumn was making its creeping presence known in the city, and the few people awake were subdued in the chill. The world was silent, save for the dimming birdsong that was the end of the morning chorus and the occasional rumble of a cart going past. Despite this silence, nobody in the tea shop stirred as the soldiers walked by.<p>

"Search the shop. We've been told she's here." The door burst open and Katara leapt to her feet. Zuko was only a half-second slower, and they were both ready to fight by the time the second soldier had come through the door. Zuko blinked, and the last of his sleep daze left him as he shook his head. The two of them paused as none of the soldiers moved to attack them, and when the final soldier came through the door, the whole group fell into formation against the wall behind him.

"Master Waterbender Katara?" Katara nodded slowly, although Zuko was sure that she should have lied. "You are under arrest for the murder of Lord Hipau. You are also charged with evading arrest and contempt of court."

"Contempt of court?" Zuko and Katara spoke at the same time.

"You ran away while your hearing was in session." Katara gave a small nod to show that she understood, and Zuko stepped forwards slightly in anticipation of an attack. However, the captain, as Zuko assumed he was, now turned his focus to Zuko and gave a bow.

"Fire Lord Zuko." He straightened up and spoke directly to Zuko's face. "Your presence is required in the palace as a matter of some urgency. The Fire Nation is on the verge of declaring war again at the kidnapping of their Fire Lord." Zuko felt slightly like he was being chastised like a small child, but he too nodded his head.

"I will come with you, but Katara will not go in chains. She is innocent of murder." Zuko had pulled himself up to his full height, and in retaliation of the way he had been talked down to, he was using his Fire Lord voice.

"You have no say in the treatment of prisoners of the Earth King, Fire Lord Zuko."

"Then I will be taken with her."

"Zuko, don't be stupid." Katara's voice was strained. A pair of soldiers was holding her arms, and a block of earth held her hands behind her back. "You need to find out who murdered him. You need to find out what's going on. I'll be fine."

"But Katara, what do I tell your father?" Zuko's gut wrenched at the sight of Katara in chains, and a familiar rage started to boil up as he looked at her captors.

"Tell him I said he has to help you." Katara began to be pulled away from Zuko, and she resisted only a little as she said her final piece. "Bring Maki with you."

"Of course Katara." But she was already gone out of the door and being marched back to the Upper Ring.

* * *

><p>Zuko pulled his ruined clothes out from under the table and stuffed them in a bag that Jin had found for him. The three other occupants of the room simply watched in silence as he picked up a sleepy Maki from the bed and made his way to the door where a pair of soldiers was waiting to escort him back to the palace. Zuko looked up at Ina, her deep sunken eyes still red-rimmed with a restless night. He tried in that look to say all the apologies that he hadn't been able to convey in their time before, but she looked away, another tear falling from her face. Teru buried his head in his mother's shoulder; he too was not in the mood to talk to Zuko. Finally, he nodded to Jin, and walked out of the bedroom, and out of the tea shop.<p>

There were guards behind and in front of him as he walked through the city. He felt strangely conspicuous, despite the fact that the city was still not awake, and he was still wearing the muted greens and browns of any Earth Kingdom peasant. Ahead on the road, the footprints of the soldiers who had gone on ahead with Katara were evident in the dust, and Zuko watched them intently as they made their way up into the centre of Ba Sing Se.

The palace, when they finally arrived, seemed to be almost entirely unscathed by the events of the last few weeks. Here and there, cracks marred the perfect facades of the great stone buildings, but Earthbenders could be seen in all directions, performing complicated moves in perfect synchronisation that seemed to run a smoothing hand up crumbling walls until they were clean and perfect once again.

Zuko watched the dusty footprints of Katara's entourage through the palace, until they swerved down a corridor where his guards clearly indicated he could not follow. Zuko slowed, fixing the position of the route into the bowels of the palace firmly in his memory, before steeling himself and continuing onwards through the long corridors. The only thing that kept him from simply forcing his way through his escort and following Katara down was the child in his arms, now awake and watching the scenery around her with awe.

Finally they were in the throne room of the palace. Inside was much as Zuko had left it, the noblemen who had acted as jury in Katara's trial still sitting in their places, looking at the doorway expectantly. When Zuko was visible behind his escort, there were many surprised looks, but the whole company was too well trained to give anything away. The Earth King sat on his throne above, but his exuberant nature seemed to prevent him from restraining his questions.

"Fire Lord Zuko, what child is this? Is it yours? Katara's?"

"I think you would have noticed if Katara was about to give birth before she left. No, it is neither of ours. We were entrusted with her care when we were helping the clear up from the earthquake in the middle ring."

"I see." The Earth King sat back down, seemingly satisfied.

"And what, precisely, were you doing in the Middle Ring, Fire Lord?"

"I found Katara assisting in a hospital."

"So you were not assisting in her escape or evasion of the law?"

"No."

"Despite the fact that you were so opposed to her incarceration in the first place?"

"No!" Zuko's exclamation surprised Maki, and she began to fuss and demand to be set down. He put her on the floor, where she proceeded to crawl towards the low table and use its leg to haul herself to her feet. Zuko had done it almost without thinking, but the nobles seated around the table looked at him like he had just removed all his clothes and gone parading through the city. When the room seemed to come to its senses, there was a general spluttering of outrage, cut short by a side door being flung open with a bang.

"NEPHEW!" Iroh burst into the room and flung himself at the stunned Fire Lord. Zuko staggered under the considerable weight of his elderly uncle, and discreetly hugged him back.

"Uncle. It is good to see you again."

"My boy, what have you been doing out there? There was a riot and an earthquake and General Zhian is on the verge of declaring war all over again because of your prolonged absence. What were you thinking?"

Zuko scratched the back of his head awkwardly and attempted to avoid everyone's eyes. Maki saved him too much explanation by letting out a shriek of excitement as she grasped a sheet of paper off the table and succeeded in pulling it down towards her. She started to rip it into tiny pieces, but Zuko hurried to her and picked her up in his arms.

"What would Katara say if she saw you doing that?"

"Um... Zuko?" Zuko turned to see his Uncle giving him a sideways look.

"Not mine. Or Katara's. We're just looking after her."

"Well, not that I'd mind. I'd always thought I would make an excellent grandparent. Nearly as good as I make an uncle!" Zuko would have slapped his head at the thought, but Maki was taking up the full efforts of both his arms. She was climbing over Zuko's shoulder, standing on his cupped hand and holding onto his hair as she looked back down at the paper that had been her plaything. She pouted slightly when she saw a servant pick it up and return it to its place on the table, but Zuko putting her on his hip and turning back to the Earth King prevented any tantrums. Now she had an old man pulling silly faces to stare at instead, and so she was silent as Zuko addressed the room again.

"My lords, I accept that I have a great deal of explaining to do, but first I have a child to look after, a country to contact and I must speak with Katara's father."

"Of course, Fire Lord Zuko." The Earth King spoke again. He too seemed amused by Iroh pulling faces at the toddler. "Will you need further rooms for the girl? I can find a nanny or nurse for her."

"That would be welcome, thank you." Zuko looked down at Maki's face, and was brought back from his Fire Lord mind-set. Once again he was a scarred teenage boy, in a strange city, trusted to take care of this tiny person. His expression softened as he looked at her, and he almost protested when a young woman came forward to take her away. When he was sure that she was taken care of, he made toward the guest wing with Iroh in tow, dreading the conversation he was about to have.

* * *

><p><em><strong>I could tell you all about the exams that I took and the show that I did and the ATLA Cosplay party that I had (U Jealous?), and the Uni interview that I just finished, but you don't really care, do you? You only care that THIS CHAPTER IS REALLY LATE AND REALLY SORRY!<strong>_

_**A big thank you to the Apple Store, from whence you are receiving this chapter today. Stealing Wifi FTW!**_

_**Also... The Fault in Our Stars AND The Perks of being a Wallflower... In one week... TOO MANY FEELS... (So this chapter being bleugh is probably because of that)**_

_**And my email hates me, otherwise I would post replies to your reviews and give out named #ReviewCookies, but as it is just have a pile. I promise to remedy this in the next chapter. **_

_**I DID READ ALL YOUR REVIEWS AND THEY MADE ME VERY HAPPY, SO THANK YOUUU :D :D If I hit 50 reviews, I will get you guys to choose the name of a fairly main character (Ok, basically THE main character except for Zuko and Katara) in the sequel... Had I mentioned there's going to be a sequel? ;) **_

_**More #Cookies to follow...**_


	14. Interlude the Second

**Interlude The Second**

_This interlude is dedicated to my friend Nick. I only really met him on Friday, but he has changed me._

_I spent all night on the phone to him as he was taking an overdose. Together we said some beautiful things. I hope that I can do the feelings that we had together justice. _

_This is a flashback to about a day after Zuko and Azula's Agni Kai, when they still didn't know if Aang had fought Ozai, etc. Zuko is recovering from the fight. _

_**I would consider this chapter to be very dark and painful, and I don't necessarily think it falls entirely under the rating T. You have been warned. It isn't necessary to the story in Ba Sing Se, so if you skip it don't worry. I will post the next chapter immediately after this, so you still have something to read.**_

Katara hurried through the halls. They palace around her was strangely empty, long red-painted corridors stretching away from her at regular intervals along her way, but she barely noticed. She was in a hurry to find the healer's quarters to collect some bandages for Zuko, and she was trying her utmost to keep the set of instructions that Zuko had given her in her head.

_Third left, then the second door. Up these stairs, then somewhere there is a black door... _Katara looked around her for the door that should lead her to her destination, but she was stopped by a sound in the silence. It was quiet; barely a whisper in the air, but Katara turned around and looked at the door she had just come through. Sitting beside the door frame was a small chest and wedged between the chest and the wall was a small figure. The noise it was making sounded like a sob, but muffled by a piece of cloth. Katara approached slowly, looking down at the person in red, and paused just as she was about to out her hand in their shoulder.

"Hello?" Katara spoke at barely above a whisper, but the boy still jumped. For it was a boy. He bolted upright at Katara's words, and looked into her eyes. Katara's hand travelled the small distance further to rest on his shoulder and she felt him shaking. No, not shaking. Shuddering. His breathing was coming in small gasps, and his eyes were pained. Katara's heart broke as she looked at him, and she clambered into the space beside him and held him.

They sat for what felt like hours. Katara's hands found their way into the boy's, and she gripped him firmly. Every time she felt his breath falter, she held him that little bit tighter, squeezed his hands to remind him that she was there, until she felt him take another breath. She had never seen anyone have a panic attack before, so she acted entirely on instinct. After a while, she felt him calm a little, and she put one hand up against his head. She leaned his ear to rest on her shoulder, and she stroked the hair on the back of his head in silence, content for a few minutes longer to sit in silence.

When he pulled away, he turned to look into Katara's eyes again. Their hands were still held together, and Katara gave a small smile as she squeezed his hand slightly. The corners of his mouth turned upwards and his eyes softened a little, but the pain was still evident on his face. Katara heard his breath change again, and realised that it was not over for him, so remained exactly where she was. Eventually the boy spoke.

"Thank you, but I'm alright now." His voice was deeper than she was expecting, the boy she thought to be eleven or twelve suddenly seemed older. _He could be older than me. _She looked back at him seriously before she spoke.

"You're not fine." She said simply.

"No." The boy's eyes flicked down. "But it's as good a lie as any."

"What's wrong?"

"Too many things. But I am not alone. Terrible things happen in wars, and sometimes people see those things. And it is impossible to forget them."

"What have you seen?" The concern she felt bubbled over into her eyes, and he vision began to blur as tears welled up. But they did not fall. She would be strong for this boy. Later she could be broken, but for now she would be strong.

"I saw the Phoenix King. Before he left, he was in his rooms. I was sent with my younger brother and sister and a collection of other children to him. He told us," The boy paused and looked down into his hands. Katara gripped his hands tighter again, only loosening her hold when he continued.

"He told us that we were the future. And that we could not be weak when we were the most powerful nation. He told us to turn to the person next to us and kill them. I turned to my left, away from my sister, and saw a girl there barely as tall as my waist. But the Phoenix King looked right at me and so I lunged forward and..." His breathing became rapid again, and Katara out her arms around his shoulder. He screwed his eyes tight, and his body heaved with silent sobs and pained breaths. She could feel him forcing the air through his lungs, and remembered the terrible tightness of grief. The way that her lungs had seemed barely able to respond to her command that they fill with air. She held him again, until he spoke again.

"But it was when I turned back that I remembered my brother and sister standing side by side. I couldn't look. Instead I faced Lord Ozai and saw him nod to me. Then he turned to the person beside me and nodded at them. I don't look that much like either of my siblings, but he must have seen something. Because he pointed at the two of us and told us that we two must fight." His words had become lower and lower, and Katara had leaned in closer and closer. She shushed him, not wanting to put him through whatever came next, but she couldn't help but hear his next words.

"It was my sister." His ragged breath resolved itself into a heartfelt wail of purest agony. "My brother had given his life for her. She was so young. But I... couldn't... I was so scared..." Katara rubbed small circles in his back, coaxing each breath through his burning lungs and gripping his clammy hands as they squirmed. He was gone again, back into that terrible place where nothing could be put right, and she felt each pained shudder that ran through his body. His face was paler even than the normal Fire Nation pallor, and his eyes were wide open, drinking in the sight of the blank wall before him as though it held all the answers.

"I don't deserve to live any more. I am a monster. Aki. My little Aki. Her hair was so soft. I would tuck her in every night and sing to her and she would look up at me with those beautiful brown eyes and I could see how much she trusted me..." He continued to murmur, and it eventually became a soft croon that wavered as he rocked back and forth.

"Ozai is the monster." Katara's voice almost broke as she said it, but she took a deep breath and held herself steady.

"But I still had a choice. I could have chosen as my brother did. I could have ended it then. There would be no more pain. I just can't face it any more. I am so weary. I can't see the beauty now that I am unclean." Katara made to speak, but his hand came up and stopped her.

"Don't tell me I am worth saving because I won't believe you. My mother tried, but she doesn't understand. She wants me to live for selfish reasons. I am me. I am the one who will be no more. I am sorry that I will hurt people, but they don't understand."

Katara looked down at his face and saw such pain that she could not understand it. And so she allowed herself a moment of weakness as he buried his head in his own arms again, and let him go and let the shudder of pain work its way through her body. She made no sound, but the tears that had threatened coursed down her face, and she grieved for this boy that she hardly knew. Because there was a part of her that knew that she could not save him from himself.

"I found some poisons in the healer's rooms." His voice was low. "I just took some." Katara took a breath and composed herself again. She leant her head against his back and let the cloth of his shirt soak up her tears as she listened. "I know what's going to happen to my body. In a few minutes I'll start to feel ill, and then my muscles will start twitching. Eventually I'll be unable to control any part of my body. Then I'll be unable to breathe."

Katara held him again as his breathing quickened. She didn't know what to say, so sat in silence.

"I'm sorry. I don't even know your name."

"It's not important. You are important."

He shook his head. "I'm not important."

Silence came again.

"I find you both extremely difficult and extremely easy to talk to you. I'm sorry that I'm going to leave you here."

"Maybe another day."

"What does that mean?"

"I live eternally in hope that you will have a miraculous recovery."

His head burrowed this time into Katara's shoulder and she felt the wetness soak into her shoulder. She rocked slightly as they sat together.

"I'm starting to feel ill. I think the poison is kicking in. I'm sorry. You seem like someone who spends their life giving to people anyway. But I'm weary. So weary. I just want it all to stop. Yet the planets will still move." His voice was rather sing song at the end.

"It seems a shame not to see them though." Katara was careful what she said. She didn't want him to close up. She had accepted that she may not be able to fix him, but that didn't mean that she couldn't try.

"What does that mean?"

"It seems a shame not to see the planets as they move, even if they will go on without you. I find it kind of wonderful."

"I used to think like that. I shouldn't have burdened you with this. Your mind is too wonderful to spoil with what I have to say."

"You should definitely have burdened me. I will fill your head with wonderful nothings until you decide to carry on just to spite me."

"I'm just so weary. I've used up all my family and friends, and wish it could all be over."

"You'd be surprised how much people you have yet to go through. You are not alone. People who are used up by people simply aren't trying hard enough and I have no sympathy for them. I too was weary once, but I found hope and light and beauty before it all became too awful, and it was that hope that led me to where I am today. You need to find the thing that fills you up again, and looking for it is the hardest thing in the world. And so much harder for you than it ever was for me. But I believe that you will find it."

"I did find it. It was her."

His fingers in her hands twitched slightly. She gripped him tightly, but they continued to move under her fingers.

"It's starting. You can go if you want. People keep going. It's not their fault, I push them away."

"You'll be hard pressed to push me away. I have a tendency to stick like a pentapus."

"Some of your comments are a little spooky at times. They remind me of me from before."

"Maybe I am you from the past, here to remind you that once upon a time the world smiled and you shyly smiled back, your day a little brighter."

She saw a small smile form on his face, before his expression fell again. "The world stopped smiling the day it shattered and the sun died."

"I always smile. It drives most people up the wall that I'm so cheerful and hopeful, but some people need to be smiled at. Like you."

"Your cheerfulness is a little tricky cope with. But I wouldn't wish it otherwise."

"Well, if it gets too much let me know. I can always leave. I'll always be here when you come back."

"Back? Back from where?"

"You're my boomerang; it is your imperative to come back. And back from your little holiday from my endless cheer." Katara pulled a ridiculous grin to prove her point.

"Boomerangs are designed to kill. And I mean nothing to you - no offence intended. You don't know me. You don't know my past, what else has happened, my ethics, my beliefs, my hopes, my fears, what I've been through and what I haven't. And I know similarly little about you. Except that you're one of the good ones."

"All I need to know about you is that you are hurting and that I will hold you as tight and as long as you let me."

His body began to shake again, and Katara could feel the twitching in his feet through the muscles in his back. His hands were almost completely beyond his control now, but Katara was still holding them fast.

"I'm here. I'm always here."

"Everyone leaves in the end."

Katara was looking down at the ground beneath her, when the talk of watching the planets suddenly reminded her of a poem that she had heard as a small girl. She began to recite it in a murmur under her breath letting the sound of her voice coming in an endless stream be all the comfort that she gave.

"Friends are like the stars above;

Beacons of hope and light and love;

Telling the story of many a year;

But they know not of your pain and fear.

"Friends are like the stars that shine;

The brightest of the throng are mine;

They shine with constant, flickering light;

But we cannot know of their perilous flight.

"Friends are human, one and all;

Together we rise, together we fall;

And though through night we parted stand;

The same stars fly o'er both our lands."

He murmured into her shoulder as she finished, and she shifted her shoulder slightly to hear him clearer.

"...from someone who has known earth shattering pain and is in the process of dying and doesn't even see it worthwhile to write a suicide note, that: you are amazing - I know it, intuitively, and love is all there is, ultimately. Don't waste it on the wrong person or people and never let go of the right person or people. Oh, and don't blame yourself, it's been nice to have company."

Katara could see the hope fading in his eyes, and prayed silently to the spirits that this boy would find peace. She recalled a quote from a favourite author of hers.

"The final words of Ling Hahn were 'I hear it's beautiful over there.' I don't know where there is, but I know it's somewhere, and I hope it's beautiful."

There was a long period of silence again before the boy spoke.

"I believe in no afterlife. Only non-existence."

Katara didn't know what to say, so she remained silent. He spoke again.

"Would you miss me?"

"I would miss you. I would not feel guilt, because you do not want me to, but the pain would stay. I would hear your voice, remember your face, and for a tiny while, my smile would falter."

"I barely know you, but you are beautiful. Thank you."

"I barely know you, but you have touched my soul. You too are beautiful, as only those who have beautiful souls can be. Go forward knowing that you have made your mark on me, and that my smile will ever be bittersweet in your memory. It has been an honour to know you, even in your weakness."

"I wish Aki was here. I haven't contacted any of my friends or family today. Suicides are not selfish or evil, or to be blamed. Just a hole."

"Yes, you will leave a hole. A void. But in time it will remind all of us that we are lucky to be alive and happy. You are wonderful. You deserve happiness. And I want you to find it however you can. While this way is not my first option, ultimately it is your decision. I could selfishly ask you to choose otherwise for my own peace of mind, but ultimately it is your choice.

"I... Can't decide. But it may be too late."

His legs and arms were now shaking too, and Katara took him up in her arms and held her as steady as she could. His arms curled up into his stomach, and his hands on his chin as his head folded into the crook of Katara's neck. She spoke to him a little louder so that she could be heard over the pained sound of his breathing.

"Some things go softly, others go suddenly. But in the end, they are still gone, and we are still left behind, and no raging at the spirits can alter the saw things have changed."

"I know the pain of grief. There is no 'recovery'."

He was silent in thought for a while before he continued.

"Would you hold it against me, or in any way think less of me if I didn't choose to end up dying?"

Katara's gave a small leap of joy, but she struggled to contain it. He was so delicate, that the wrong thing right now could unto the hours, or was it only a few minutes, that they had sat together.

"No. Because life is agony, and sometimes the agony is beautiful, but that doesn't make you any less brave for facing it. It is agony for all of us, but we hide and joke and bluster until we almost forget the agony within ourselves, let alone the agony of others."

"So, if I survive tonight, you'll still talk to me?"

Katara heard a bell toll. It had been dark when Katara left, but it seemed that midnight had come upon the huddling pair.

"It's a new day. And for you it can be a shining opportunity. Your choices today are not defined by the choices you made yesterday. You get to make them again. And some of them will be the same and some of them will be different but they will still be you."

They talked some more, of little things that were of no consequence, the shaking becoming more and more violent until Katara was using all her strength to keep him from hurting himself against the chest and the wall beside them. Eventually, he spoke again.

"It's scary, but knowing you're thinking of me is giving me some strength. I...d... Don't want to... to die..." He began to sob, but the shaking made it almost impossible for him to do anything other than breathe. Katara smiled and pulled him to his feet as she stood, and managed somehow to get him into the room with the black door. Inside there was a bed and Katara's last reserve of strength pulled him onto the bed and allowed her to turn to the room. It was a mess, but through his direction she managed to find the correct antidote. She fed it to him slowly, and little by little the shaking began to lessen. Eventually he was lying almost completely still, only the slight twitching of his fingers showing that he had ever been in such agony. Katara sat on a stool beside the bed, and held his twitching fingers again, listening to his laboured breathing.

"Thank you. I don't even know how to find words. I thought there were none - yet you managed time and time again to send me words that were both heartfelt and raw. If you'd accidentally seen me naked, I would blush and carry on. If you'd discovered something embarrassing about me I'd smile at you shyly and askance, hoping you wouldn't think less of me.

"But you saw my soul. You saw me scared, weary, utterly broken and stripped bare. You saw me looking over the edge of life, fearful and so, so, so alone. And you didn't judge. You didn't lecture. You didn't tell me I was silly. You didn't decide you knew better. You took hold of my hand and peered over the edge with me and made sure I wouldn't have to go alone. You accepted, and tried to make me feel comfortable and loved in my passing. You shared with me the darkest and scariest time in my life so far - worse than when I lost Aki. And you showed me pure, unearthly, unselfish love, such as I have never seen or felt or even suspected existed.

"And I'm broken, and I don't know if I'll live, if I took the antidote in time. but I'd wish to die this night, in so many ways, with you showing me such love and reading me poetry and telling me about the books that you have read and the places that you have seen. I can think of no better way to go. So no, I don't know what will happen, and I won't say thank you because what you lived through with me was not merely human or a favour. But I'm completely and utterly broken. And you were the only one who stood beside me through it all.

"So I don't know what today will bring, but I'm glad you were here for this part of it."

Katara looked at him as he spoke and her eyes filled with tears. His breathing had become much more laboured, and she could do nothing but watch. His fingers began to twitch more forcefully again, and his eyes were wide as he concentrated on the breath moving in and out.

Katara wasn't sure how long she sat beside him when it happened. There was nothing. Where once there was everything, suddenly was nothing. Katara looked into the boys eyes and saw the panic there and saw how he was struggling to open his chest and take a breath, but to no avail. Katara took in a huge breath as she realised she had been holding it for him, and she started to feel light headed. Her breathing was short and uneven until all around her there were lights and she slipped into unconsciousness.

When she woke, the boy was at peace at last.

_Eventually Nick too decided to go to the hospital for treatment for his overdose. _

_Much of the conversation is taken directly from the texts that I was exchanging with Nick through the night. As such, I make no apologies for Katara being OOC, as she is actually pretending to be me. Katara also quotes John Green (and Ling Hehn is actually Thomas Edison)._

_It's two days later, and Nick is still alive. I think he will try again, and eventually succeed. But I am at peace. I hope he will find his peace in this world, but if he can't then I will help him to make his passing beautiful. _

_Normal service resumes post haste._


	15. Incarceration

**_[[Insert Disclaimer Here.]] I'm feeling lazy._**

**Incarceration**

Katara did her best not to struggle too hard against her captors. The familiar paths of the Upper Ring that led to the Palace comforted her slightly as she was led through them, but soon they were in the palace and taking corridors that she had never seen before. She saw in her mind's eye the cells beneath Lake Laogai where they had found Appa, and where Jet had died. She wasn't sure she could keep her cool exterior if she was led down there.

She thought briefly of Zuko and Maki. She had seen the barely controlled rage in Zuko's eyes as she was taken away, and she worried for both of them. And she was confused. About last night. Falling asleep almost in Zuko's arms had been... comforting. And the way that he had looked at her when she walked into the shop; that confused her more than anything. _He must be killing himself right now. He always worries so much_. But for the first time she didn't rebel against the idea of someone worrying about her. Rather, she felt less alone.

_And he's infuriating enough as it is, I'm sure I'll find another way to shout at him. After all, he is still a fool for running away to find me. I haven't quite let him off the hook for that one yet. _

Katara was finally led into a room that looked like a cell, and left to herself. She brushed off her clothes as the door was locked behind her, and looked at her surroundings. She was pleasantly surprised to see a reasonably comfortable mat in the floor to sleep on, as well as a simple chair and table and a hole in the floor in the corner. She tried not to think about the necessity of using that. A few lumps of plaster littered the floor, and she looked up to see a crack in the ceiling. Clearly the repairs on the palace hadn't gotten this far. _If I was an earthbender, this place would hold no problems for me. _But she wasn't and so she sat on the chair and absentmindedly brushed her fingers through her hair, content for the moment to wait and see what would happen.

* * *

><p>There was a long wait until anyone came to see Katara. When the door began to open she leapt to her feet, half expecting to see a familiar face, but the door opened to reveal a wrinkled old man. He scowled at Katara, the faces of the guards behind him blank and impassive, and Katara barely concealed a gulp of apprehension. He out the tray of food down on the table with a definite thump and Katara's eyes flicked reflexively toward it to see that there was only a tiny cup of water accompanying her bowl of rice. She looked back at the man's face and could almost feel the hostility in his eyes as a physical force. They stood facing each other for what could only have been a couple of seconds, an unspoken challenge hanging in the air between them, before he finally broke the silence.<p>

"I hope you are comfortable here. I will return to pick up your tray in due course. You will be summoned when your trial is due to take place."

Katara was dumbfounded by his words, but managed to nod her thanks as he backed out of the room. He turned to look at her one final time, and she heard the words that formed almost silently on his lips.

"Next time you won't be in the way."

She was sure that he hadn't meant the words for her, and kept her face as blank as possible until the door finally closed behind him. She looked at her food for a few minutes, wondering if she was hungry enough to eat the very unappetising meal, and eventually settling on waiting a little longer. She paced the room, pausing by the door each time she passed it in the hope of catching any hint that someone was coming for her. Eventually she tired of this, and sat back down on the chair. She had been content to wait before, but now she was impatient to get out and find out exactly what this mess was. She was worried about Zuko, and by extension Iroh and the rest of her friends. She missed Maki, and worried that Zuko had just handed her over to the nearest woman and forgotten about her. But right now she could do nothing, and simply turned her chair to stare at the door and lean back in a state of half-wakefulness that slowly led to sleep.

* * *

><p><em>I know my words can' fix this<em>

_That I can't take away the pain_

_But I can reach out and..._

_He looks away._

_"Katara."_

_"No Zuko."_

_I put my hand gently on his cheek. He flinches, but I'm careful that my fingers fest just below the scar on his face._

_He doesn't need that now._

_"It's never going to be a good time."_

_He sighs._

_"I know."_

_"Then why not now?"_

_"I..."_

_He can't finish._

_He can't put it off._

_Not anymore._

_She's on the floor._

_Her face full of pain._

_It mirrors his._

_Or maybe his mirrors hers._

_"Azula."_

_"Zuko."_

_It's the first time I've ever heard her say his name._

_"How are you?"_

_"Better."_

_I see the hope in his eyes. Then he looks at her._

_Haunted._

_That's what her eyes say._

_Azula always lies._

_"I hope you are." Under his breath._

_"I'm glad." Louder. So she can hear._

_She looks back to the floor._

_Her ragged fingernails trace hard patterns against the scorched floor._

_She is broken._

_More than I can fix._

_More than he can see._

_But we'll bot keep trying._

_Because I can't not._

_And she's his sister._

_We're back in his room._

_I sit._

_He paces._

_I don't speak._

_Nor does he._

_Not for a long time._

_"I was told that she would be better now."_

_"That was never for sure."_

_"But... I hoped."_

_So did I,_

_For his sake._

_Because his pain is unbearable._

_"It's not even been a year..."_

_"I wish..."_

_I know what he wishes._

_Who he wishes for._

_But not yet. _

_Maybe that will be a good time_

_When she is here._

_Maybe then he can face her._

_But how will he face his mother when..._

_We'll get there when we get there._

* * *

><p>"I can't believe you got my sister ARRESTED!"<p>

"I'm sorry." Zuko had tried explaining that it wasn't he who had done the arresting, or even been anywhere of importance at the time, but Sokka was having none of it. While Sokka paced the room and fumed, Hakoda sat on a chair, staring at his hands, a strange and lost look on his face.

"Katara." Hakoda's voice was soft and barely audible. "Where did they take her?"

"I don't know." Zuko's tone matched that of the warrior's.

"She would never do a thing like this."

"I know that and you know that, but the council refuse to look at what is in front of them. Advisor Hipau was badly burned. It was clearly a firebender who attacked him."

"But the only firebenders in the palace are you two."

"And about twelve of the soldiers that came with us." Iroh was sitting behind Zuko, a cup of tea in his hands.

"Uncle, have you asked..."

"Yes, I quizzed them all before the first hearing."

"Ugh!" Zuko threw his hands in the air and began to pace alongside Sokka. "I still don't understand why they blame Katara. Sure, she was found with the body, but you only need half a brain to see that she would never do something like that. She's too obsessed with helping people."

"There must be someone on the Earth King's Council trying to divert suspicion."

"What?" Everyone turned to look at Sokka.

"Well, think about it. If they wrap up the case nice and quickly, then nobody goes looking for the real culprit."

"But who in the fire nation would want to kill an Earth Kingdom noble, who also has another Earth Kingdom noble on their side to cover their tracks?" Sokka's face fell at Iroh's words, and he went back to pacing the room.

"And why Hipau? I mean, I disliked the man, but not enough to kill him." Zuko had stopped pacing and was now pinching the bridge of his nose as he attempted to think

"Why didn't you like him?" Sokka asked.

"Oh, he just wanted the Fire Nation to fall down at the Earth Kingdom's feet and give them everything, in return for the hundred years of war."

"Zuko, do not over exaggerate. He only wanted all our money." Iroh admonished.

"Same thing." Zuko sighed and sat back down in the seat that he had vacated earlier. "But that just makes even less sense. All the groups that we've seen in support of the war wouldn't kill him, and the rest of us don't go for the killing thing. And then Katara has nothing to do with it. It feels like a plot, not just a random killing, but Katara is, politically, a nobody, so including her makes absolutely no sense." Zuko was reminded of the argument that the two of them had, and realised that, to an extent, Katara had been exactly right. "If only I could have seen what happened, seen Hipau's body. Maybe I could tell them something about the firebender that did it." Zuko knew that he was clutching at straws and making less and less sense. "I... Just... AAARGH!" Zuko wailed in exasperation as all the different reasons for the killing went round and round his head. His uncle put a calming hand on his back and they all thought silently for a few minutes. Finally, Hakoda spoke.

"I think the first course of action should be to clear Katara's name, so that she can assist us. Maybe we should call back Aang and Toph so that Toph can act as a lie detector again?"

"I'll send him a messenger hawk." Sokka left the room at a sprint, clearly glad that he could do something useful at last.

"Zuko, you should talk to the Earth King. Kuei is not without reason, and he has grown to trust your word. Maybe we can have Katara released before Aang arrives, and then we can begin the investigation in earnest."

"You're right Uncle. I'll go and talk to him."

"Meanwhile, I'm going to have a look at that lovely young girl you brought back with you." Zuko groaned as he remembered.

"Uncle, instead of that, can you go to the Middle Ring Jasmine Dragon and ask for a Yura. She's the only person who knows what Maki's father looks like, and I promised Katara I'd look after her. That includes looking for her family."

Iroh sighed, but nodded his consent. "And I was so looking forward to having a new grand-niece."

* * *

><p>Katara looked up. The door of her cell swung open to reveal a much more smartly dressed Zuko, behind him her father and brother in the hall. She ran towards them and grasped all three in a huge hug, ignoring the suspicious looks she was getting from the guards.<p>

"Have you come to let me out?"

"Yes." Katara grasped Zuko around the neck and kissed him on the cheek. Zuko blushed, and Katara grinned at his discomfort.

"Thank you."

"Well, there is a catch. You aren't allowed anywhere without either myself or Iroh. We have to supervise your every move until such time as either you leave the Earth Kingdom, or the murderer is found. It was the only way I could get you out." Zuko held his hands up in front of him as though he thought she might hit him, but instead she just smiled.

"I'm just glad to be out."

"So you're not mad?"

"No. Why would I be?"

"Well... I say everywhere. I mean _everywhere. _You aren't allowed to go unattended for even a moment."

"WHAT!" Katara thought about the bath she was so looking forward to, and the prospect of either Zuko or Iroh having to sit in on that made her shudder. Zuko looked just as uncomfortable, but that was no consolation to the furious waterbender.

"I am looking at getting Yura as another... erm... escort." Katara calmed a little at Zuko's words, but she was still shooting daggers at Zuko's head with her eyes.

"Fine." Katara folded her arms and looked down at her feet.

_Maki. _Katara thought about the little girl silently. "Where is she?"

"Who?"

"Maki. Where is she? You didn't leave her in the tea shop did you?"

"No. She's got a nurse here in the Earth Palace. I asked Uncle to go to the Jasmine Dragon and find Yura to continue the search." Katara frowned at Zuko's words.

"I'd like to care for her while she is here. I took her in, she is my responsibility. I'll not have anyone say that I shirked my responsibilities." Katara wasn't sure why it came out so venomously, but she almost spat out the last word. Her father and brother almost visibly recoiled, and for the first time, they spoke.

"Why is she your responsibility?"

"Don't be foolish Katara, you're only a child."

"I'm not a child, Dad." Katara glared at Hakoda.

"Yes you are. You aren't yet sixteen."

"No but..." Katara counted quickly in her head. "I will be in _three days_."

"Three..." Katara could see Hakoda's face doing the same count. "...days." He slumped in defeat.

"Even so, you may not be able to. I'm not sure how the Earth King will take you wanting... A child..." Zuko sighed and tried his sentence again. "You are supposedly a prisoner still."

"I don't care. I will see her. I promised."

* * *

><p><em><strong>CHAPTER HAPPENED! LOOK! YOU THOUGHT I WAS DEAD BUT HA!<strong>_

_**Srsrly tho guys, I am really sorry. You may want to reference my previous chapter to see that stuff has been a little crazy recently. That along with running away from home twice on account of domwstic abuse kinda made the writing thing tricky. Also, writer's block.**_

_**The thing in the middle... that is a dream/memory of Katara's that I wrote as a kind of drabble thing to try and kill my writer's block. It only kinda worked. But according to my writing software, we are only 134 words away from 40k, and all my NaNo experience tells me it's easier when you hit 40k... so yeah.**_

_**ONLY ONE #ReviewCookie this week, for ErraticRaven because she is wonderful. Where did you guys all go? I'm sad that you don't review any more. Even hater reviews would be cool...**_

_**Anywho - Hopefully I have set up enough awesome shenanigans for the next few chapters to be a little more upbeat (who here is looking forward to that bath that Katara wants... hehehe...)**_

_**HUGGLES FOR YOU ALL!**_


	16. Bath Time

_**Just a reminder I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters.**_

_**Any inaccuracies in terms of OC and random bits of plot changing are my entire fault.**_

* * *

><p><strong>Bath Time<strong>

The walk back to the sleeping quarters was... awkward. Zuko was keenly aware of the waterbender by his side, and he knew that she was hiding a seething rage that threatened to boil to the surface at any moment. How was he to know that she wanted to bathe as soon as she got to her rooms?

But first they had to make their way to see Maki. Zuko was fairly sure he knew where the extensive (and mostly disused) nurseries were, and he made his way deftly through the maze of corridors, hoping that his boldness and sense of purpose would prevent Katara from venting her rage at him.

Only a few ill-conceived turns later (which he rather cunningly concealed by going around a few corners back to the place where he had gone wrong) they were in a part of the palace beautifully decorated in shades of pastel green and yellow. A small stuffed turtle-duck was sitting in the middle of the hall, and Zuko bent to pick it up as Katara pushed ahead of him to go through a door that was slightly ajar. Zuko straightened in time to see Katara hurry through after a cursory glance around the doorframe, and stepped through himself to see Katara holding Maki tightly to herself. Maki started to fuss as she dropped the small block that she had been playing with on the floor, but Zuko stepped up behind Katara and managed to distract the small child with the stuffed toy in his hand before fussing turned to bawling. Katara seemed to take the (Zuko had to admit - incredibly cute) laugh that Maki emitted as a declaration of how much she had missed her surrogate mother of only four days, and laughed back, with a quiet murmur of "I'm glad to see you too." that Zuko was sure he wasn't meant to hear

The nurse that he had handed Maki over to earlier that day walked in and bowed formally when she saw Zuko. She looked at Katara warily, but Zuko intervened before she could voice her objection.

"This is Master Waterbender Katara. She will be taking care of Maki from now on." _Assuming King Kuei doesn't object._ He added mentally. "I would like to thank you for your assistance in providing care, and would be most grateful if you could remain in case of..." Zuko tried to think of a good word. "Incidents which require Lady Katara's attention. Please let me know of anything that you need, but Maki will be living with Lady Katara from now on."

"Yes Fire Lord Zuko. I will be more than happy to assist the Lady Katara." There was an unease in her eyes that betrayed her knowledge that Katara was supposedly a wanted criminal, but she didn't voice it. Instead she looked back to Katara and addressed her.

"My Lady. Would you like me to pack some of Maki's things and have them sent to your chambers?"

"Yes, that would be great." Katara settled Maki on one hip and Zuko passed the turtle-duck that Maki had been groping for into her tiny hands for her to immediately begin chewing on it's beak.

"Zuko, do you know if I am staying in my old rooms?"

Zuko's head snapped back from watching the determined consumption of the innocent toy to Katara.

"I don't know. If I'm supposed to be watching you all the time I think that maybe you'll have to stay in..." Katara could clearly see where this sentence was heading as her face became stormy with the same barely contained rage as before, so he quickly swerved in defence. "...the room next to mine."

Katara's face softened.

"That sounds fine. Do you know where the Fire Lord is staying?" The nurse nodded her head. "Then take her things to his room and we'll sort out where I am staying as soon as I get there." The nurse nodded again and gave a short bow, before she retreated, presumably to find the things that had been given to Maki while she had been, all of four hours, in the care of the Earth King.

Katara quickly turned out of the room and started down the corridor and Zuko, somewhat unprepared for her hasty departure, trotted to catch up with her.

"Look, Katara. I know you object to having me go with you everywhere, but you'll just have to accept it until we find out what's going on."

"Just because I accept it doesn't mean I have to make it easy for anyone."

"Look! This wasn't my idea. But it could be worse. You could have some lewd earth kingdom guard following you everywhere. Who would you rather you had to bathe in front of." When Katara turned around he visibly cringed at the look on her face.

"I'd rather none of you were with me while I bathed. And thank you for reminding me, I had almost forgotten to be furious with you."

"Katara..." But Zuko had nothing more to say, so his plea petered out into an awkward silence. They had been together without needing to speak before, but this time it was an uncomfortable silence, and Zuko searched his brain for something politic to talk about.

"So... you didn't tell me that your birthday was so soon."

"No."

Zuko tried again.

"Do you have anything special planned?"

He saw a slight flinch on her face as she replied. "No."

They walked in silence until they were nearly at Katara's old room. It wasn't far from Zuko's room, but his door was around the corner, and he knew for a fact that there were several doors leading from his room into those of his guard sin the rooms either side.

"Do you want anything for your birthday?"

"Will you just lave my birthday alone?" Katara didn't yell, but he definitely heard the annoyance in her voice.

"Ok... Ok... I'll just get you a lump of coal then."

Katara looked at him questioningly.

"It's a fire nation folk story. It's all about a young boy who was the perfect son except that he couldn't firebend. The spirits took pity on him and on his sixteenth birthday gave him a lump of coal. No matter what he did, he couldn't light it when he put it in the fire, then he got so frustrated that he started firebending. Then his father was so proud that he declared his son a man and heir to his estates. It's all about coming of age or something."

Zuko remembered with fondness the coal that he had found outside his cabin on his ship on his sixteenth birthday, one from each crew member. of course, he hadn't been at all grateful at the time, but now he was appreciative of the thought from them all - it meant that they considered him a man. Of course, not long after that he had gone to the South Pole and become all-consumed by his search again, but it seemed that for a brief few months that he was almost a nice person. Or so Jee had said to him when his Uncle had told the story once.

"Well... um... thank you?" Zuko just looked straight ahead and tried not to look smug at managing to get a somewhat polite and multi-syllabic response from his companion.

They were finally outside Katara's room, and she did not hesitate for a moment before she opened the door and strode in. Zuko paused for a moment at the threshold, but then remembered himself and followed Katara in, just in time to hear her small gasp.

Inside, the room had been turned upside down. There were clothes in all shades of blue scattered across the floor, and her mattress had been pulled off the bed and slashed almost completely in half. Various other bits of the fine furniture that had decorated the room were either upside down or ruined, and on the whole, the room was a complete mess.

"I think that someone got a little over-zealous when they were looking for you." Katara could only nod in agreement. Maki, who had thus far stayed fairly quiet, dropped the now extremely soggy turtle duck on the floor and Katara absentmindedly put her down when she began to reach for it. She soon forgot her dropped toy, however, in favour if a small collection of the feathers that had previously filled the mattress and she seemed to take much delight in stuffing the soft down up her nose and in her ears. Zuko picked the girl up, spotting a few splinters from broken furniture around the floor, and carefully removed the feathers from her nose and one stray that had ended up in her mouth, before gingerly picking up the turtle duck and handing it back to her, and she began to chew the beak once again.

Katara was still looking around the room numbly and not saying anything. She began to pick her way around the wreckage, occasionally picking up items of clothing that she came across and draping them across one arm. Eventually she straightened and looked back at Zuko.

"I think we should go to my new rooms. I should put these away." Zuko gave a short nod and led the way from the room in silence.

* * *

><p>Katara followed Zuko into his room, and he put Maki down on his vast bed. He left her burrowing into the pillows before gesturing for Katara to sit as he strode through an adjoining door and began to talking to the occupants on the other side. She sat without a word and looked at the clothes in her hands. She picked off a few feathers that clung to the fur-trim of her old travelling parka, and thought back to her room.<p>

She wasn't sure why she was so unsettled by the sight of her room. It was almost as though she had been burgled. While Katara was not usually a particularly private person, she felt it had been an invasion of her privacy, and now that she was not allowed to go anywhere, or do anything, unescorted she felt like she had no safe place. She probably could have felt private in her old room, even if there was a Zuko or Iroh always looking over her, but it seemed that while she was here nothing was hers any more. Nothing was safe.

Zuko came back in with a pair of guards.

"These two will help us gather up your things and move them into their room." Zuko gestured through the room he had just come from. "Then they will move into your room and you will at least have your own place to sleep." Katara could see how awkward Zuko was in this situation, but enjoyed watching him squirm a little too much to let him off the hook straight away. Anyway, she still had to punish him for the fact that he would be watching her bathe. She was definitely not letting Iroh in on that. For some reason, Zuko seeing her naked was much preferable to Iroh.

"Alright. I'd rather not have to go back in there though." Zuko must have seen something in her expression, because he frowned slightly and nodded to the two guards. They gave a short bow and left the room, leaving Katara and Zuko alone.

* * *

><p>Zuko could see that something was bothering Katara, so simply told the guards to go and sort out the rooms while he stayed with her.<p>

"I'll let the guards sort out the rooms before you settle in there, it seems only fair that they can move their things out before you move in. Do you want that bath now? I have quite a large one..." Katara looked up from her staring at her clothes and nodded. Maki gave a small shriek - almost as if she was reminding the pair of teenagers that she was still there - and Zuko had an idea to make the prospect of the bath somewhat less mortifying.

"And while you bathe, I can give Maki a bath. The sink in there is almost bath-sized anyway." He gave a small smile which Katara returned, and she almost immediately came back to her usual bossy self.

"I'd better do the washing. I don't quite trust you not to inadvertently drown her."

"Hey. I'm not as stupid as that. I think I could avoid any drowning."

"Really? This I have to see." Zuko gave her a defiant look and scooped Maki up under one arm around the middle and marched with the disgruntled child into the bathroom. Katara followed and watched as Zuko placed Maki on the side and began to fill the sink with water. He put his hand in the basin and heated it to a good temperature, but when he turned to pick up Maki, he found that she was now in Katara's arms.

"For starters, don't put her on a surface three feet off the ground. She very nearly toddled her way straight off onto the floor." Katara stepped forward and put her hand in the water. "And this water is much too warm to put a baby in. She'll scald herself." Katara gave a casual wave of her hand and Zuko saw the steam that had been lazily curling toward the ceiling cease to be. After Katara did the same, he dipped a finger in the water, determined to never make the same mistake again and felt that it was a little cooler than his body temperature.

"Surely she'll be cold." Zuko turned to find Katara undressing Maki, carefully tugging the tattered dress that she was still wearing over her head.

"Not all of us are freakishly warm firebenders like you. She is a nice normal little girl, and if you feel her temperature," Katara placed Zuko's hand on the girl's now bare stomach and he felt her to be considerably cooler than him. "You'll see that the water is in fact just a little warmer than _her_ body temperature." Zuko nodded meekly and watched as Katara deftly stripped Maki of the last of her clothing. Maki fussed slightly when she was put on the cold marble by the side of the sink, and Katara looked expectantly at Zuko. Taking his cue, he picked up the squirming girl, and lowered her into the water.

Maki gave the loudest squeal Zuko had ever heard. He was astonished that something so small could make such a loud noise, but she kicked the water and splashed it all over the front of his clothes, and beat her chubby fists against Zuko's forearms. Zuko quickly removed Maki from the water and stared down at his dripping clothing. Katara tittered slightly behind him, and determined not to fail at this, he put Maki back in the water, ignoring as best he could the water that was now all over the floor as well as his clothes, and tried to splash the water up to her neck. She wriggled free of his grasp and tried to use the taps as a vantage from which to stand, but she slipped on the smooth bottom of the basin and was only just caught by Zuko. She gave an even louder wail, and Zuko began to panic.

"Katara! Help! What am I doing wrong?" He tried to grip Maki under each arm again, but she was sliding all over the place, her head briefly dipping below the water and he scrabbled to pick her up. At this point, Katara intervened, elbowing Zuko out of the way and placing deft hands on the frond and back of her torso.

"I think she just doesn't like water very much. Bad luck. She'll get used to it." Katara started to bend the water up, carefully wetting Maki's hair without getting any in her eyes. Maki was distracted by the magical water that Katara was splashing over her, and she was distracted enough to stop her wailing. Katara looked back at Zuko and by use of some strange elbow manoeuvres managed to convey that he should take Maki again. Zuko did so gingerly, and Katara continued to bend the water all over Maki's body. Soon soap was added to the mixture, and Zuko was instructed to keep Maki amused so she wouldn't move and cause Katara to accidentally get soap in her eyes. Zuko picked up a flannel form the side of the sink and used it to create a small pocket of air under the water, which when Maki squeezed it caused a stream of tiny bubbles to emerge from under the water. That kept her amused long enough for Katara to rinse the suds from her body and Zuko to lift her out and onto a towel that Katara had laid on the floor beside the basin. Every edge was wet from the water that was on the floor, but Katara bent the worst of the water back into the sink as Zuko began to rub the water from Maki's large amount of short hair.

Katara turned on the taps that stood either side of the large bathtub at the side of the room and Zuko heard her say "Don't look." as he finished drying the last of Maki's body. Of course, the first thing you do when someone says "Don't look." Is turn to look at them, and he did just that, catching a glimpse of a gently curved waist and the very top of her bottom as she took her outer layers of clothes off. He turned back hurriedly, the slight blush on his cheeks nothing to the slight tightening of his stomach muscles as he attempted (and failed) to banish the sight from his thoughts.

After a few moments of looking blankly at the rubbed-pink of Maki on the floor, he groped behind him and made contact with a pile of cloth, which he pulled around and found were not just Maki's clothes, but Katara's as well, including her underthings. Cheeks burning even redder, he put Katara's clothes back behind him and tried to focus all his energy on getting Maki back into her clothes.

"Wait a moment." Zuko paused mid-struggle, Maki's head half way through her dress and her squirming restricted. "Pass them here and I'll wash the clothes a little. It seems a waste getting her so clean then putting grubby clothes straight back on her." Zuko sighed and pulled the clothes he had managed to force onto the squirming toddler back off her, and scooted backwards until his back was against the bath. He held the clothes over his head, studiously watching the patch of green-tiled wall immediately behind Maki, and felt Katara pull the clothes from his hands. He sat, his hand angled back slightly in anticipation of receiving the clothes back, and watched as Maki began to suck on the damp edge of the towel and listening to the faint splashes of Katara's waterbending against the background thunder of the still running bath.

When he felt the clothes being placed back in his hand he let out a small breath he hadn't realised he was holding and scooted forwards again to sit before Maki. This time she seemed to know somewhat better what was expected of her, and she stretched her arms in the air after only a little urging from Zuko. He managed to get Maki fully clothed in a matter of minutes, by which time Katara had turned off the running taps and could be heard sloshing the water back and forth lazily. Zuko cautiously turned around, and noted with some relief that he could only see the top of Katara's head from where he sat on the floor, and so her leaned back against the wall and settled Maki on his knee. She picked up the towel from the floor and began worrying the edge again, and Zuko left her to it, resigning to have one very slobbery towel in his bathroom whenever Maki was here.

Katara must have heard that Zuko had finished with Maki, as she peered over the rim of the bath to critique his dressing of her. She gave a small concessionary nod of her head, before relaxing back into the warm water with a sigh.

"Sorry about earlier."

Zuko looked up from where he had been watching Maki in surprise.

"Which part of earlier?"

"Probably most of it. I wasn't best pleased with the solution, but I am glad I'm not in that dirty cell any more. Even if I have to have you in here while I bathe."

"It's ok. I understand."

"And I did have plans for my birthday."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Aang was going to take me to the zoo. Apparently he's friends with the zookeeper."

"Oh. Sorry." Zuko couldn't think of a good response to that, but it didn't matter, as Katara wasn't done talking.

"He always seemed to know everyone. Why couldn't he be normal and forget people's names like me? I'm terrible at names. I'd forget yours if I hadn't seen it on wanted posters all over the Fire Nation."

"Thanks. That makes me feel so special." Replied Zuko dryly. "Did I really make that much of an impression on you?"

"It's nothing personal, I promise."

"Sure." Zuko pulled the corner of the towel out of Maki's mouth and pulled her tighter against him. She dropped it happily and leaned her head against his warm, and still somewhat damp, stomach.

"But it was just the way that he was so nice to everyone, you know?" Zuko didn't know, but decided that it was probably best to keep quiet. "He made everyone feel special and in the end failed to make me feel special. I was always there, he stopped making an effort to impress me, you know. And he was always so childish. If I suggested anything more than a chaste kiss he'd blush and go all dorky on me. I never even brought up the thought of sharing a room or a bed with him. I decided that would probably scare him off completely. I suppose it did in the end. Oh, he said all those things about mothering him and not letting him out, but I suspect it was because he was uncomfortable with wanting to actually _progress_ with the relationship. I don't think it's entirely unreasonable to want a little more from your boyfriend than the occasional bit of hand holding and kissing after you've been travelling the world together for nearly two years. But no, I had to go with a monk, who probably doesn't even know where babies come from, let alone the process by which babies come about."

Zuko had to admit, at the thought of more than kissing he remembered with some fondness nights spend in the Fire Lord's chambers with Mai, the two of them locked together on a large sofa after dark. It hadn't moved on to much more, but if Katara hadn't even had a hot make-out session and a little over the clothes touching, he could see why she was frustrated. He thought briefly about making out with Katara, but was snapped out of it by a light snore from Maki. He realised his musings had caused his body temperature to rise a fair bit, and took a few beep breaths to cool himself down, watching Maki sleep in peace.

"I think he was too young for me. I think he was too young for the whole thing. He's grown up since the war, and while I'm nearly of marrying age, he would only just be old enough to go on his first hunt in the Water Tribe. Not that he would, but still. I feel like two years is a really big age difference when you're fourteen and sixteen. Maybe in a couple of years it won't seem so bad... Sixteen and eighteen for some reason sounds less unreasonable. At least then we'd be at the same stage in our lives. I just feel like while I'm practically and adult, he's still a kid. Admittedly a kid who has achieved more than most adults ever will, and with more responsibilities than almost anybody, but still a kid. I think we all forget that."

Zuko could tell that she was no longer ranting, just rambling, and gave a low hum in agreement. She seemed to be a little startled that he was still there, and there was a loud slosh as she sat up and looked at him. Her gaze softened when she saw Maki asleep on Zuko, but Zuko wasn't really looking at her face. He was looking where any teenage boy would given his position, and Katara followed his gaze and brought her hands up to cover herself as she leaned back into the water.

"You are SO LUCKY that Maki is with you right now, otherwise you would find yourself FROZEN TO THE FLOOR! Now TURN AROUND and let me get dressed! Pervert." Zuko was quick to comply, and managed to swivel round so that his forehead was leaning against the cool tiles with Maki still snoring contentedly against him. He heard several splashes from behind him, and finally the sudden glug that was the plug coming out of the hole. There were a few more rustlings and the sound of Katara getting out of the bath, the water cascading off her and into the remaining water noisily. More rustling, and another splash that he assumed was her bending the water off herself and back into the tub. Finally she tapped his shoulder and he turned around meekly.

"I'm..."

"I don't care. My room better be ready, because I am tired."

"But Dinner..."

"I am tired." Katara said the words with a finality that Zuko couldn't argue with, so he carefully picked up the sleeping Maki and made his way back into his room behind a seething Katara.

* * *

><p>Katara folded herself under the thick mattress and revelled for a moment under it's warm embrace. Surrounding her were piles of clothes that had been carefully laid on the various chairs that lay around the room, but right now she couldn't be bothered to put them away. The only sound was Zuko's light snores in the next room, the door between them conspicuously open though she couldn't see it in the dark, and Maki's breathing on the bed beside her. Katara turned over slowly, and looked at the very faint outline of the girl lying beside her. She felt a tug in her stomach at the thought of having to give her back to her family, but schooled her thoughts carefully.<p>

_She's not your daughter. She belongs to another family. Sure, she likes you, but you have to let her go back to her own family. _Katara let out a small sigh of disappointment_. I wouldn't give her the best life anyway. I still haven't sorted out where I'll be staying after I leave the Earth Kingdom. If I kept her with me I'd probably be forced to go back to the Southern Water Tribe with my father and take all the stares and derogatory remarks from all those stupid Northern Water Tribe boys, who would refuse to marry me if I had a child, even if it wasn't mine, calling me unclean and spoiled. _Katara could feel herself getting angry again_. What do they know? I know they already think that of me because of the fact that I travelled around the world with Zuko and Aang. Like we really had time for that sort of thing. Well, Sokka and Suki seemed to have time, but I was too busy sewing up their clothes for that kind of dalliance._

Katara was aware that she sounded like her grandmother, and let herself enjoy a small giggle at her own expense. Maki stirred slightly at the noise and Katara made a soft hushing sound that soon settled her back to sleep. Checking that she truly was fast asleep, Katara turned around again and faced the open door. Zuko had stopped his snoring and was now simply breathing loudly. Her cheeks coloured slightly when she thought about the bath that he had sat in on, and she found herself becoming angry again.

_Stupid teenage boy. And stupid Katara. You were being so careful to only let your eyes show over the rim of that tub, then as soon as he does the slightest unexpected thing you forget yourself as though there was nothing wring with random people seeing you naked._

It was funny to see him blush and panic though. And watching him bathe Maki was EXTREMELY entertaining... until he nearly drowned her. That wasn't so impressive. He was so adorably desperate. I think he'll make a great father one day. Katara fought off another blush as she remembered the water against his shirt, causing it to stick to his well-defined torso. Even through the heavy formal robes he had been wearing, he'd had an impressive figure. And he was so obvious and unashamed of the affection and protectiveness he felt for Maki, Katara couldn't help but love him.

_Wait. Love him? That seems a little excessive._

But she thought about it. even through her embarrassment over his seeing her... less than decent, she had seen the appreciation in his eyes and been flattered. And he was so protective. He never seemed to think of his own safet when it came to her. _Like that stupid lightning. And then running after me into a riot. Stupid, but wonderful._

Still not entirely sure how she felt about the whole thing, Katara allowed herself to drift off to sleep, her dreams filled with soft, smiling, golden eyes.

* * *

><p><em><strong>So I managed to really annoy my boyfriend by needing to write this at midnight, just as we were dropping off to sleep, and VOILA! 4334 words in under two hours. This is possibly a new writing-speed record for me... But I did have to kick him out if the bed for snoring too loudly and killing my groove. And then he refused to come back... sadface...<strong>_

_**And last week it's a good this I updated when I did, because for the remainder of the next three days I was CATATONIC WITH GLEE – lying curled up on the floor chanting '**_**Korra Korra Korra Korra Korra Korra'... **_**Yeah *blush*... But then I watched the leaked episode (I HAVE NO REGRETS) and suddenly ATTACK OF THE PLOT BUNNIES.**_

_**Oh, and for those of you on alerts, that last scene just crept up on me this morning, and I decided it made more sense in this chapter than at the beginning of the next.**_

_**#ReviewCookies go to missycole23 (I know I know... give me a couple of chapters...) and PunkWolf32 (I know I need to actually be around to get reviews really... I was just in a bad mood...) THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVE!**_

_**All that time off writing gave me plenty of time for baking. Jussayin...**_


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